New Guidelines For Osteoporosis In Men

(WebMD)  The American College of Physicians has issued new guidelines to bring awareness to osteoporosis screening in older men.

"Osteoporosis is not just a women's disease," says Amir Qaseem, MD,PhD, MHA, of the American College of Physicians, in a news release. "Not enough older men are being screened."

Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become less dense, more porous, and more susceptible to fractures. It is commonly thought of as a problem for postmenopausal women, but it can also occur in men.

The American College of Physicians reports that the prevalence of osteoporosis is estimated to be 7% of white men, 5% of African-American men, and 3% of Hispanic men in the U.S. But the group says those figures are expected to grow as the population ages within the next 15 years.

Among the new guidelines:

Clinicians should periodically assess older men for risk factors of osteoporosis.

Clinicians should obtain DXA tests for men who are at increased risk for osteoporosis and candidates for medication treatment. The DXA test (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) measures bone density.

More research is recommended to assess screening tests for osteoporosis in men.

Here are some of the main risk factors of osteoporosis for men:

Age over 70

Low body weight

Recent weight loss of more than 10%

Lack of physical exercise

Use of some medications such as corticosteroids

The new guidelines are published in the May 6 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

By Kelley Colihan
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved

[ampsanne]

I can tell my husband is shrinking. And at a mere 100 lbs. our doctor has not even mentioned osteoporosis. As for myself I was diagnosed with osteopenia the beginning of osteoporosis. I tried all of the prescribed medications for it, even nosedrops and all it did was upset my stomach and make me sick. I gave up on all of them, and now just take 1500 mg. of calcium with D daily. So far this seems to have done the trick as my calcium levels are normal. Makes me wonder if all those pills for osteoporosis are necessary. I also read an article on a survey out of Europe. They compared people who had been on medications for osteoporosis against people who didn''t take anything for it, and lo and behold they both checked out the same. Makes me wonder if we''re just lining the drug companies pockets.

[baileyccc]

What a shock, more medical testing recommended by WebMD.
MSM is working just fine for me with no side effects.