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Juvenile osteoporosis: the signs, what causes it, the bone density test, treatment, and when no cause is found
For parents of a child or teen just told it is juvenile osteoporosis; for teens themselves; and for the people who care for them. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS, part of the NIH) says osteoporosis is a bone disease that develops when the bones get weaker and less dense; that when a child or teen has it, it is called juvenile osteoporosis; that it is uncommon; and that it comes during the major bone-building years, so it can slow growth and bring a high risk of fractures. It is usually caused by another illness, or by a medicine the child takes for it. This page passes on, by name, what NIAMS says: how it affects a child; the illnesses, medicines and habits that can cause it; the rare form with no known cause; the bone density test and the Z-score; and treatment. It builds the words to say to a doctor or nurse, and prints a card to keep.
Right now
- A bone through the skin, a badly bent limb, a hurt head, neck or back, trouble breathing, or anyone in danger right now: call 911 (ours).
- A bone that may be broken: keep it still and get care today (ours; NIAMS says juvenile osteoporosis brings a high risk of fractures). See A bone that might be broken. Do not stop or change a prescribed medicine on your own, even one that can weaken bones; ask the doctor who prescribed it first (ours).
- Thinking about suicide: call or text 988, any time (ours). See Depression.
More help
- Bones and the body: Pain, bones and joints: find the right page · A bone that might be broken · Osteoporosis · Osteogenesis imperfecta · Back pain · Child health.
- Illnesses NIAMS names: Juvenile arthritis · Kidney disease · When food and weight are hard · When someone has a seizure.
- How you feel: Pain that has lasted for months · Depression · Caring for someone.
- Care and costs: Symptom diary · Medicines list · When you need a doctor and can’t pay · Get ready for the appointment.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Pain, a bone or a joint, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for back pain, arthritis, pain that lasts, headaches, broken bones and sickle cell, on one list.
Looking after a baby or child? The pages on this site for a baby or child, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor, nurse or therapist has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 16, 2026 on NIAMS’s Juvenile Osteoporosis page (NIH, last reviewed May 2023) and its Spanish twin, Osteoporosis juvenil (May 2023), and on the page NIAMS names there for how osteoporosis is diagnosed, Bone Mineral Density Tests: What the Numbers Mean (last reviewed February 2025; Spanish, May 2023). Ours: 911 for a bone through the skin, a badly bent limb, a hurt head, neck or back, trouble breathing, or anyone in danger; keeping a bone that may be broken still and getting care today; telling the doctor soon about new pain in the back, hips or feet or a new limp; not stopping or changing a prescribed medicine on your own; a teen who is not eating enough or whose periods have stopped seeing the doctor; 988 for thoughts of suicide; notes and dates; asking what each treatment would change and what it costs; and the order of the steps. What we left out: any brand or dose; the names of the adult osteoporosis medicines (NIAMS does not name them on this page); how much calcium and vitamin D (NIAMS keeps that on a separate page); the adult T-score (NIAMS says children get a Z-score); how many young people have it (NIAMS says the numbers are not known); and NIAMS’s research pages. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.