Do you know that men, especially older ones, are at risk of osteoporosis too? But then, many of them may remain undiagnosed for such health problem for one reason: many still believe that this bone disease affects women only.
Researchers of Harvard Medical School, with associate professor Tamara Rozental as the lead author, looked into the medical records of more than 420 men and women with ages 50 years old and above. These people, moreover, had been treated for a bone fracture, and had been admitted at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Of the sample size, about 95 of them were men.
Based on their analysis, less than 20% of men who experienced bone fractures had been asked to undergo a bone density screening to determine whether they are at risk or have developed osteoporosis. This percentage is significantly lower than over 50% of screened women.
Bone fractures particularly of the wrist are some of the earliest signs of weakness of the bones. If these patients were left undiagnosed for the disease, they may develop more severe fractures like those of the hip within a decade.
Meanwhile, doctors prescribed vitamin D and calcium supplements to only less than 25% of men who had been treated for some bone fracture or injury.
Although osteoporosis is more associated with women, men are actually more at risk since they have a higher chance of dying during their first year after a fracture of the hips and hospitalization because of bone fracture.
Rozental is aware that there are limitations to the scope of her study, one of which is that the research covered only quite a small sample size from a single hospital. However, she also cited that this is one of the very few studies that dealt with osteoporosis and men.
Right now, she highly recommends that men who develop fractures should request for a screening from their doctor.
The study is now Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.