Osteoporosis Is No More a Women-Only Disease

Due to the fact that osteoporosis is hailed as a women-only disease, men are never tested for osteoporosis. According to the statistics, almost 1 million men over the age of 65 succumb to osteoporosis in the United States. Almost 3.5 million men have been found to be at risk for osteoporosis. 

Women are diagnosed early on during the course of the disease due to regular screening programs and put on the road towards treatment. Men, on the other hand, do not undergo checkups and are therefore, far from receiving the treatment for osteoporosis. 
Family history is the primary risk factor for osteoporosis in men. Long-term steroid use, gut diseases, chemotherapy for prostate cancer and alcoholism are the other risk factors that play a major role in osteoporosis in men. 

A lot of causes can lead to osteoporosis in males including the use of immunosuppressant drugs, low testosterone levels, smoking, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, hyperthyroidism and various joint diseases etc. 

Annual Screening for Osteoporosis in Men 

The recent recommendations released by the American College of Physicians include annual screening for risk factors in men for osteoporosis when they cross the threshold of 50. The Endocrine Society has put forward the recommendation of starting regular bone density screening tests in men at the age of 70 as the risk of osteoporosis peaks at this age.

The key for optimal treatment of osteoporosis in men is timely diagnosis so that interventions can be started early. Only through annual screening tests, osteoporosis can be diagnosed during the initial stages and the risk of osteoporosis-related morbidity can be reduced. 

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According to Mary Ruppe, M.D., an endocrinologist, almost 80,000 men suffer hip fractures every year due to reduction in their bone mineral density and the risk of death resulting from such fractures is even higher in men as compared to women. 

The statistics highlight the importance of heeding osteoporosis as a serious disease in men and the need to hold annual screenings for osteoporosis besides educating the masses about the importance of screening. 

Educating the male population about the threat of osteoporosis and to adopt active strategies to combat it is one of the major challenges since men fail to recognize osteoporosis as a threatening disease.

 It is imperative to advise men to quit smoking, avoid alcohol, increase the physical activity, ensure adequate daily intake of calcium and vitamin D and to avoid medications that may cause osteoporosis after talking to the doctors and weighing their potential benefits against the risks posed by them. 

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The treatment strategies currently available for osteoporosis in men are the same as that in women. The medicines serve to maintain the bone density by regulating the bone formation process in order to prevent the risk of pathological fractures. 

Only though the diagnosis of osteoporosis in men in a timely fashion can early treatment be started and they can be tested for the underlying causes of the disease. Additional interventions like vitamin D supplementation and testosterone therapy can also be initiated in order to reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality associated with osteoporosis in men.