Did you know that 25% of men over the age of 50 will experience an osteoporotic fracture?
Or that nearly 30% of all hip fractures occur in men? What’s more, their long-term outcome for hip fracture as a whole is worse than that of women.
Because osteoporosis is often described as a woman’s concern, many men may not realize they’re at risk for harmful bone loss too. As part of National Osteoporosis Awareness & Prevention Month, it’s time to share the news with your male family and friends so that they can take action too.
The vast majority of factors that weaken bone in women are also risk factors for men:
Very few studies have tested the common bone drugs in men. A 2015 reports an overall lack of evidence concerning the effectiveness of bisphosphonates for reducing hip and other non-vertebral fractures in osteoporotic men.
I suggest for men and women that bone drugs be used as a “last resort” only when all hidden medical causes of bone loss have been explored and all known lifestyle and nutrient interventions have been tried and proven unsuccessful. You can read more about my natural approach to bone-building here.
References:
Karlsson, M. K., M. Kherad, R. Hasserius, J. A. Nilsson, I. Redlund-Johnell, C. Ohlsson, M. Lorentzon, D. Mellström, and B. E. Rosengren. 2016. Characteristics of prevalent vertebral fractures predict new fractures in elderly men. Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery Am. 98(5):379–385.
Rudäng, R., C. Ohlsson, A. Odén, H. Johansson, D. Mellström, and M. Lorentzon. 2010. Hip fracture prevalence in grandfathers is associated with reduced cortical cross-sectional bone area in their young adult grandsons. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 95(3):1105–1114.
Willson, T., S. D. Nelson, J. Newbold, R. E. Nelson, and J. LaFleur. 2015. The clinical epidemiology of male osteoporosis: A review of the recent literature. Clinical Epidemiology 7:65–76.