Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/489205
O STEOPOROSIS HAS LONG been perceived as a "woman's" disease, but an estimated 20 percent of men over age 50 suffer osteoporotic fragility fractures each year. As the population ages, this number is predicted to rise. A report by the International Osteoporosis Foundation states that the number of hip fractures in older American men is expected to increase 51.8 percent by 2030. Despite these numbers, older men are less likely to receive appropriate osteoporosis screening. In a study published in November 2014 in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, researchers investigated how osteoporosis screening and treatment following a distal radial fracture — a common fragility fracture that often precedes more severe fractures of the hip and spine — compare in men and women. The results reveal a need for greater awareness regarding the prevalence and severity of osteoporosis in men. A Jarring Gender Gap Past studies have evaluated the rates of distal radial fractures in older women, but less is known about the incidence and impact of these fractures in men. To determine if men have similar injury patterns, researchers conducted a review of the medical records of 95 men and 344 women over age 50 who were treated for a distal radial fracture at a Boston hospital from 2007 to 2012. "Because [distal radial fractures] are the earliest fragility fractures we see, they give us a unique opportunity to intervene," says Tamara Rozental, MD, Associate Professor in orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School, orthopedic surgeon at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and senior author of the study. "We know WHEN A FEMALE PATIENT OVER AGE 50 SUFFERS A FRAGILITY FRACTURE, A LIKELY FOLLOW-UP TEST IS A DUAL- ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY (DXA) SCAN TO MEASURE BONE MINERAL DENSITY. WHEN THE AFFECTED PATIENT IS MALE, THAT POTENTIALLY VITAL PHASE OF CARE OFTEN DOES NOT OCCUR. By Tiffany Parnell Study Reveals Missed Chances for Osteoporosis Detection in Men SPECIAL CLINICAL SECTION: MEN'S HEALTH 1 8 | Long Island MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M