Osteoporosis and vertebral fractures in men aged 60-74 years.
BACKGROUND
limited information on the prevalence of osteoporosis and VFxs in men in high-risk populations is available. The choice of reference values for dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is debated. We evaluated the prevalence of osteoporosis and vertebral deformities in a population-based sample of men.


METHODS
bone mineral density (BMD) was measured and vertebral deformities assessed using DXA and VFx assessment (VFA), respectively, in a random sample of 600 Danish men aged 60-74 years. Osteoporosis was defined as a T-score of -2.5 or less.


RESULTS
the study population was comparable with the background population with regard to age, body mass index and co-morbidity. Osteoporosis was diagnosed in less than 1% of the participants at inclusion. Using Danish and NHANES III reference data, 10.2 and 11.5% of the study population had osteoporosis, respectively. In all, 6.3% participants had at least one VFx. BMD was significantly lower in participants with vertebral deformities, but only 24% of these cases had osteoporosis.


CONCLUSIONS
osteoporosis and VFxs are prevalent in men aged 60-74 years. Although the majority of deformities were present in individuals without osteoporosis, BMD was lower in patients with VFxs at all sites investigated. Male osteoporosis was markedly underdiagnosed.
Department of Endocrinology, Odense University Hospital, Kloevervaenget 6, Odense 5000, Denmark. giltay@dds.nl
Morten
M
Frost
Kristian
K
Wraae
Bo
B
Abrahamsen
Mikkel
M
Høiberg
Claus
C
Hagen
Marianne
M
Andersen
Kim
K
Brixen
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D015519:Bone Density; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D008297:Male; D054526:Men's Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*