ABSTRACT
Introduction Osteoporosis is characterized by a reduction in bone density, associated with skeletal fragility and an increased risk of fracture after minimal trauma. Although osteo porosis is generally considered to be a condition affecting post-menopausal women, men lose 15-45% of trabecular bone and 5-15% of cortical bone with advancing age, compared with 35-50% and 25-30%, respectively, in women |l|. This results in a life time risk of hip fracture of up to 11.1% in 50-year-old men and 22.7% in 50-year-old women |2|. Due to global demographic changes, it is projected that, by the year 2025, of the total 3.9 million hip fractures in the world, 1.2 million will occur in men and 2.7 million in women. Studies have consistently shown that mortality and morbidity after all fracture types is higher in men than in women, with enormous cost implications. It has been estimated that the medical cost o f osteoporosis in men in France in 1 year is €197.5 million |3|. Risk factor studies have confirmed that similar factors are responsible for low bone mass and increased fracture risk in men as in women, including physical inactivity, low body weight, tobacco and alcohol con sumption, poor dietary calcium intake, comorbid diseases, oral steroid therapy and hypogonadism.
