Worldwide, more than 200 million women have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, a loss of bone density that can lead to debilitating fractures. Almost 20 percent of all women ages 70 and up are touched by it.
Because of those staggering numbers, most men tend to see osteoporosis as a women’s disease. However, we are coming to understand that, though fewer men are affected, it is a “silent disease” for men, a serious health issue.
Typically, osteoporosis in men starts later in life and the effects are not as distinct as they are with women. Because of men’s larger skeletons and denser bone mass, osteoporosis progresses more slowly. They also don’t go through the drastic hormonal changes that women do in their 50s, which fuels the loss of calcium in bones and is a hallmark of osteoporosis.
By the time men are in their mid-to-late 60s, however, their loss of bone density occurs at the same rate as women, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. As life expectancy increases, therefore, male osteoporosis will continue to be a growing problem.
What is osteoporosis, exactly?
Osteoporosis, generally, is a condition in which bones become more brittle due to a loss of its building blocks. This is typically because of hormonal changes or deficiencies in Vitamin D or calcium. There are two types of the disease, however.
Primary osteoporosis “” or senile osteoporosis “” is directly linked to density loss because of age, while the secondary type of the disease is usually due to lifestyle choices, other diseases or medications. In men with the disease, most have been found to have at least one secondary cause, according to experts.
Those risks: glucocorticoid medications that are steroids typically used to treat conditions like asthma or rheumatoid arthritis, alcohol abuse or smoking. Hypercalciuria, in which too much calcium is being lost during urination, and sedentary lifestyles are also strongly linked to male cases of osteoporosis. Caucasians are also at a slightly higher risk.
How it is detected?
If found before serious bone loss happens, osteoporosis is easily treated. Unfortunately for men in particular, it’s rarely found before the patient has suffered a bone break. By then, it’s a lot harder to stem the progress of the disease. The damage has been bone.
Since the threat to women has long been known, doctors have been watching their female patients for signs of the disease. Screening, using a Bone Mass Density test, usually occurs in their 40s and those found to be showing signs undergo treatment.
However, some experts suggest that the same BMD test used for women isn’t as helpful for doctors to diagnose their male patients. Current bone loss guidelines are more geared toward women, those doctors say. Male rates have yet to be properly tracked, the argue.
Still, a BMD test “” which is painless, consisting of x-ray scans “” can give your doctor enough of a warning to keep you alerted to the problem and treat it.
