Older men should be evaluated regularly for osteoporosis, according to new guidelines of men and the bone-thinning disease released by the American College of Physicians. There's been an undercurrent of men-get-osteoporosis-too coverage in the press in recent years. But this set of guidelines is based on pretty rigorous analysis of research to see what it shows about men and the disease.
Three things you need to know
1. The recommendations don't say all men should get bone scans. They say doctors should evaluate men individually and, based on risk factors, decide whether to do scans. They say that it's wise to start looking into risk before age 65.
2. Risk factors for osteoporosis in men: Age 70 and up; low body weight or weight loss; physical inactivity and smoking, among others. [Translated into the vernacular, high-riskers would be skinny old guys who smoke and don't get out much.]
3. Interesting note: Some men are treated for prostate cancer with corticosterioids such as prednisone--and a history of prolonged use of this drug also boosts risk of bone-thinning.
What to do? We're just guessing here that, based on the demographics of the condition, most people who visit this site are women. And women know that most guys don't pay attention to stuff like this. Hmmmm. . .e-mail this to him? To his doctor?
Whatever communication method you choose, here at OstoporosisConnection.com we have at your disposal medical and patient experts, authoritative osteoporosis and osteopenia content and our new questions and answers feature.
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