Osteoporosis and fragility fractures in men constitute a considerable burden in healthcare, researchers say.
A team of specialists in trauma and orthopaedics at the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, have reported in the British Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery,
on the characteristics of males over 50 years who presented with a fracture.Reviewed were 2035 men aged over 50 years with 2142 fractures to clarify the epidemiology of these injuries and their underlying risk factors.
The prevalence of osteoporosis ranged between 17.5% in fractures of the ankle and 57.8% in those of the hip.
The main risk factors associated with osteoporosis were smoking (47.4%), alcohol excess (36.2%), body mass index < 21 (12.8%) and a family history of osteoporosis (8.4%).
Immobility, smoking, self-reported alcohol excess, a low body mass index, age 72 and loss in height were significantly more common among men with fractures of the hip than in those with fractures elsewhere.
For more details see the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery
Copyright © 2008 by British Editorial Society of Bone and Joint Surgery
