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Because women make up about 80 percent of osteoporosis cases, most screening guidelines currently recommend bone density testing for women only. But a lot of men get the bone-wasting disease too, and osteoporosis rates among men are expected to increase 50 percent over the next 15 years. For this reason, the American College of Physicians (ACP) has developed a new clinical guideline on screening for osteoporosis in men.
“Osteoporosis is not just a woman's disease. It is significantly under-diagnosed and under-treated in men,” ACP researcher Amir Quaseem, M.D., said. “Not enough older men are being screened.”
The new guideline, published in the May 6, 2008, issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests doctors should periodically assess older men for osteoporosis risk factors. They should order a DEXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) bone density scan for men with the following risk factors for osteoporosis:
• Older age.
• Low body weight or weight loss.
• Physical inactivity.
• Previous fractures not caused by trauma.
• Low-calcium diets.
• Ongoing use of certain drugs, such as corticosteroids like prednisone or drugs that are sometimes used to treat prostate cancer.
The ACP joins the National Osteoporosis Foundation, which recommends a bone mineral density test for men aged 70 and older. However, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, whose guidelines most physicians follow, doesn't have an osteoporosis screening recommendation for men.
Be sure to ask your doctor if osteoporosis screening is right for you.
SOURCES: Annals of Internal Medicine; National Institutes of Health
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07/24/08
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