ACP issues clinical practice guideline for screening for osteoporosis in men

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Public release date: 5-May-2008

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/acop-aic042908.php

Contact: Steve Majewski

smajewski@...

American College of Physicians

ACP issues clinical practice guideline for screening for osteoporosis in men

Osteoporosis is not just a women's health issue; rates among men are

expected to increase 50 percent over the next 15 years

PHILADELPHIA, May 6, 2008 – The American College of Physicians (ACP)

today released a new clinical practice guideline on screening for

osteoporosis in men. Studies show that osteoporotic fractures result in

substantial disease, death, and health costs in men.

“Older men, especially those over the age of 65, need to be assessed

regularly for risk factors for osteoporosis,” says Amir Qaseem, MD, PhD,

MHA, senior medical associate in ACP’s Clinical Programs and Quality of

Care Department. “Osteoporosis is not just a women's disease. It is

significantly underdiagnosed and undertreated in men. Not enough older

men are being screened.”

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural

deterioration of bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and an increased

risk of fractures of the hip, spine, and wrist.

The guideline calls for physicians to periodically assess the risk

factors for osteoporosis in older men. Clinicians should obtain a DEXA

(dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) scan for men who are at increased

risk for osteoporosis and are candidates for drug therapy. ACP also

recommends further research to evaluate osteoporosis screening tests in men.

Risk factors for osteoporosis in men are older age, low body weight,

weight loss, physical inactivity, previous fractures not caused by

substantial trauma, ongoing use of certain drugs (such as

corticosteroids like prednisone or drugs that are sometimes used to

treat prostate cancer), and low-calcium diets.

The prevalence of osteoporosis is estimated to be 7 percent in white

men, 5 percent in African American men, and 3 percent in Hispanic

American men. However, with the aging population, the rates of

osteoporosis in men are expected to increase nearly 50 percent in the

next 15 years, and hip fracture rates are projected to double by 2040.

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The guideline, published in the May 6, 2008, issue of ls of Internal

Medicine, is based on a systematic evidence review of previously

published studies.

--

ne Holden, MS, RD

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