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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Women aren't the only ones who should be worried about bone health as they get older. According to a new study out of Australia, men who suffer a broken bone are just as likely as women to have another fracture in the coming years. Like women, they, too, could benefit from standard treatments aimed at making bones stronger.
Researchers followed 1,800 men and 2,200 women ages 60 and older over about 16 years, recording initial fractures and subsequent fractures. While men were less likely than women to have an initial fracture, once they did break a bone the gender differences evened out. For both sexes, having a fracture substantially increased the chances of having a repeat fracture, essentially putting them at the same level of risk as people who were much older than they were at the time.
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"Our new research shows that once men and women have had a fracture, the chances of either having a second break are not only much higher, but they are equivalent; thus, the common public perception that osteoporosis affects mainly elderly women is misconceived," reports John Eisman, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., who co-authored the study.
Study authors write more needs to be done to educate both the public and health care professionals about bone health in the elderly and, specifically, the risks men face, so more people can receive needed treatment. They note fewer than 30 percent of women and 10 percent of men who suffer fractures are offered standard osteoporosis drugs proven to rebuild bone.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2007;297:387-394
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