There are more studies to warn about the risk factors for osteoporosis in women, and yet the risk of osteoporosis also exists for men, and as proof the risk of suffering a secondary fracture in the year following a first fracture is multiplied by 3 in men, vs 1.8 in women. Besides shedding light on men's bone health, often overshadowed by the focus on osteoporosis and fracture risk in women, these data, presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, support the value of bone-strengthening exercises, in men too.
Precisely, these are 2 new studies which alert on the risk of bone fragility, with age, also in men.
Prevention must start at the onset of the first fracture: the first study followed, in the long term, the risk of secondary fracture in the hip, spine, forearm and upper arm in 17,721 men and 57,783 women, aged over 50 over a period of 25 years. Researchers at McGill University estimate the risk of secondary fracture at three times the first fracture in men and situate “the bulk” of the risk in the 3 years following the first fracture. Results which underline the importance of rapid recognition of fractures, particularly in men, "with whom secondary prevention is under-implemented", comments the main author, Dr Suzanne Morin, professor of medicine at the McGill University.
Exercise optimizes bone strength: A second study of osteoporotic fractures in men is the first to show the relationship between physical activity levels and bone strength in older men. While many studies have shown the effects of exercise in women, this study, conducted among 1,000 men with an average age of 84, found that participants who practiced the most exercise and physical activity had better measurements of bone strength and a reduced risk of fracture. Elderly men therefore run a higher risk of fractures during life, but physical activity, even late in life, can reduce this risk of fracture.
Bone health and risk of osteoporosis are not just "women's issues", conclude the researchers who urge clinicians to be vigilant about bone mass in men too.
Men thus run a risk of death multiplied by 2 -vs women- in the first year following a hip fracture.
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