Male ageing and bone mineral density in a sample of Portuguese men.
OBJECTIVE
In this study we aimed to estimate the prevalence of osteoporosis and to identify the factors associated with bone mineral density in Portuguese men and to quantify age-related bone loss.


METHODS
We designed a cross-sectional evaluation of 739 apparently healthy men 20-82 years recruited during general practice routine visits who volunteered for bone mineral density measurement. Men reporting secondary causes for osteoporosis or using medication known to interfere with bone metabolism were excluded n = 82. Distal forearm bone mineral density was measured using single X-ray absorptiometry DTX 100 Hologic and information on demographic anthropometric and behavioural aspects was recorded.


RESULTS
Forearm bone mineral density decreased significantly with age r = -0.29 p < 0.001 and was higher in overweight men and among those who reported moderate or intense physical activity. The prevalence of osteoporosis increased from 1.9% at 40-49 years to 18.6% after 70 years p < 0.001. Increasing age was a risk factor and body mass index was protective against the condition.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that bone loss is an important problem in ageing men in our country.
Serviço de Higiene e Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal. rlucas@med.up.pt
Raquel
R
Lucas
Cláudia
C
Silva
Lúcia
L
Costa
Domingos
D
Araújo
Henrique
H
Barros
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D015519:Bone Density; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011174:Portugal; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult