New male osteoporosis screening guidelines

The American College of Physicians has issued new guidelines for the screening of osteoporosis in men. Osteoporosis is a loss of bone mass, which is normal as we age. However, severe decreases can lead to fractures and other complications - basically a fragile skeletal frame. There is some debate as to how important screening is and to what extent this qualifies as a disease. Regardless...

The new guidelines recommend that clinicians assess risk factors for osteoporosis in older men and that clinicians obtain a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan for men at increased risk for osteoporosis who are candidates for drug therapy.

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Based on this meta-analysis, risk factors for low BMD–related fracture in men and women were age (> 70 years), body mass index (BMI) less than 20 to 25 kg/m², weight loss of more than 10%, physical inactivity or sedentary lifestyle, previous osteoporotic fractures not resulting from significant trauma, prolonged or ongoing use of certain drugs (eg, prednisone or other corticosteroids), and low-calcium diet.

In men, androgen deprivation therapy and spinal cord injury were also associated with the risk for osteoporosis.

The report was described at Medscape, but originally found in the May 6 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.