Osteoporosis a men's issue too

It is no wonder that most consumers and many doctors consider osteoporosis a "women's health" issue: More than 8 million women in this country suffer from it; it is often termed "post menopausal" osteoporosis; the only visible symptom is known as a "dowager's hump"; and for years the only medical treatment was female hormone replacement therapy.

But more than 2 million men have osteoporosis, too. And an additional 12 million have lower than normal bone density or "osteopenia," putting them at increased risk for osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures annually, including 300,000 hip fractures, about 30 percent of them in men. However, neither the National Osteoporosis Foundation nor the U.S. Preventive Health Services Task Force mentions men in its screening guidelines, and most insurance, including Medicare, will only pay for screening in men who have already broken a hip, wrist or spinal vertebrae or who are at particularly high risk because of certain other diseases or long-term use of certain medications.

Screening is recommended for all women older than 65 and postmenopausal women younger than 65 who have one or more risk factors for osteoporosis as well as older men and women who suffer a fracture. *

For more information, contact the National Osteoporosis Foundation (202-223-2226 or www.nof.org), or the National Institutes of Health Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases (202-223-0344 or www.osteo.org).