1. Osteoporosis Slideshow Pictures
2. Super Foods for Your Bones Slideshow Pictures
3. Take the Osteoporosis Quiz

Medical Author:

Mythili Seetharaman, MD

Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Even though bone loss in men usually occurs later in life compared with women, men can still be at high risk for osteoporosis. By age 65, men catch up to women and lose bone mass at the same rate.

It is estimated that by 2025, the total number of hip fractures in men will be similar to the current number reported in women. Perhaps because men are generally older than women are when they have a fracture, men are often more severely disabled. As with women, the hips, spine, and wrists are the most common sites of fracture.

Risk factors for bone loss and fractures include the following:

• Certain drugs (corticosteroids, anticonvulsants, heparin, excessive thyroid replacement, certain cancer therapies)
• Chronic disease that affects the kidneys, lungs, stomach, joints, and intestines and alters hormone levels
• Undiagnosed low levels of the sex hormone testosterone
• Small body frame
• Lifestyle habits
• Smoking
• Alcohol
• Low calcium and vitamin D intake
• Inadequate physical exercise
• Increasing age
• Heredity
• Race (Of all men, white men appear to be at greatest risk for osteoporosis. However, men from all ethnic groups develop osteoporosis.)

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