A review on osteoporosis in men

HORMONES 2014, 13(4):441-457 Review A review on osteoporosis in men Ioannis P. Stathopoulos,1,2 Efstathios G. Ballas,3 Kalliopi Lampropoulou-Adamidou,1,2 George Trovas1 Laboratory for the Research of the Musculoskeletal System “Theodoros Garofalidis”, 2Third Orthopaedic Department, University of Athens, KAT Hospital, Athens, Greece, 3First Orthopaedic Department, University of Athens, “Attikon” Hospital, Athens, Greece 1 INTRODUCTION While osteoporosis has been traditionally considered as a disease of aging women, it is becoming an increasingly important male health problem, with one in three fragility fractures after the age of 50 years occurring in men.1 These fractures are associated with consequences that in many cases are more severe in men than in women. Increased mortality and major morbidity, including loss of independence, reduced function and mobility, pain, kyphosis and respiratory compromise, are some of them.2 However, a great proportion of men with osteoporosis are not diagnosed and do not receive any treatment. This phenomenon is observed even in men who have sustained an osteoporotic fracture, with only about 10% under anti-osteoporotic treatment. It is also worrisome that studies that have highlighted the underdiagnosis/ undertreatment problem come from countries with advanced health utilities.3,4 This review of the literature Key words: Male osteoporosis, Men, Osteoporosis, Primary osteoporosis Address for correspondence: Ioannis P. Stathopoulos, MD, MSc, Laboratory for the Research of Musculoskeletal System “Theodoros Garofalidis”, University of Athens, KAT Hospital, 10 Athinas Str., Kifissia, 14561, Athens, Greece, Tel.: +30 2108018123, Fax: +30 2108018122, E-mail: Received 17-09-2014, Accepted 30-09-2014 summarizes the latest knowledge about osteoporosis in men, focusing on epidemiology, pathogenesis of primary male osteoporosis, diagnosis and treatment. DEFINING “OSTEOPOROSIS” IN MEN In 1994, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined osteoporosis, osteopenia and normal bone status based on the T-score of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Diagnosis of osteoporosis is established when the T-score is below -2.5.5 The disadvantage of this definition is that it takes into account defects in bone mineralization without addressing critical changes in bone architecture. Another problem when assessing men’s bone mineral density (BMD) is that many laboratories measure T-score using female reference values. Considering that young females have lower bone mass and lower peak areal BMD than their male counterparts, the use of reference values of young men may be of value. However, it can lead to an increasing rate of males being diagnosed as osteoporotic, assuming that the threshold for diagnosis is a T-score below -2.5. This was evident in the NHANES study where 3-6% of men over the age of 50 were considered osteoporotic and 28-47% osteopenic when male reference values were used, compared to 1-4% and 15-33% corresponding rates when female reference values were established, respectively.6 Considering the above, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) recommended in its guidelines the use of 442 a database of young adult Caucasian men for the calculation of T- and Z-scores.7 Furthermore, we may need to establish new databases based on the different races and possibly adjust the upper limit of the T-score for the diagnosis of male osteoporosis. The need for the latter arises mainly from the fact that a large percentage of men (in several studies over 80%) presenting with low energy fractures have a normal T-score.8 The osteoporotic threshold shift towards a higher value will lead to a greater number of men being diagnosed with osteoporosis (when BMD is only used for diagnosis). EPIDEMIOLOGY According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), in the U.S. in 2002 there were 43.6 million people over the age of 50 with low bone mass, 10.1 million among them being diagnosed with osteoporosis. In 2010, the corresponding figures were 52.4 and 12 million, respectively. Men suffering from osteoporosis were approximately 2.3 million in 2002 and 2.8 million in 2010. In addition, men with low bone mass, though not suffering from osteoporosis, numbered 11.8 million in 2002 and 14.4 in 2010.9 Since it is difficult to record the prevalence and incidence of osteoporosis, indirect conclusions can be drawn by measuring the number of osteoporotic fractures and calculating the fracture risk. The risk for a man over the age of 50 years of sustaining any type of osteoporotic fracture during the rest of his life ranges from 13.1% (in the U.S.) to 22.4% (in Sweden). Women have a significantly higher risk of suffering a similar fracture (over 53.2% in the U.K.). Specifically, the risk of hip fracture for men ranges from 3.1% (U.K.) to 10.7% (Sweden) and clinical vertebral fracture from 1.2% (U.K.) to 8.3% (Sweden).10 According to Johnell and Kanis, 8,959 million osteoporotic fractures were measured worldwide in 2000, 38.6% of them (3,463 million) occurring in men. Compared to women, men had fewer hip fractures (30% of total hip fractures), vertebral fractures (42% of the total number in this area), forearm and humeral fractures (20% and 25% of the total number, respectively). However, in the rest of the skeleton men sustained a greater number of fractures than women (54% vs. 46%).1 I.P. STATHOPOULOS ET AL In males, higher mortality has been reported compared to females following a hip fracture ranging from 6 to 50%.11 More specifically, during hospitalization, mortality in men is almost twice that of women,12 while in the first month mortality remains significantly higher (12% in males compared to 7% in females).13 Moreover, men have an increased preoperative mortality rate and experience at least one postoperative complication.12 This rate remains higher in men long after the fracture, although the difference is diminished after a 6-month period.14 The aetiology of the increased mortality of men compared to women has not as yet been clarified. It has in part been attributed to a higher incidence of co-morbidities in males compared to females, which can lead to more severe postoperative complications such as pneumonia, arrhythmia and pulmonary embolism.12,13 In addition, the quality of life is severely compromised following an osteoporotic hip fracture since a large percentage of people cannot return to their previous level of activity and independence. It is interesting that more than 15% of men sustaining such a fracture are unable to walk two years post-operatively while only 34% can walk without an aiding device.15 By 2050, the European population over 50 years of age is projected to increase by 36% for men and 26% for women. The increase will be even greater for those over 80 years old (239% and 160% for men and women, respectively). In these circumstances of a continuous aging of the population, the incidence of osteoporosis and osteoporo (...truncated)