Common Questions
What is the prevalence and incidence of osteoporosis in older men as compared to postmenopausal white women?
The prevalence of osteoporosis in men over the age of 50 is 3%-6% as compared to 13%-18% in women as estimated by analysis of femoral bone mineral density using DXA techniques in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) (1). The reference groups are same-sex non-Hispanic 20- to 29-year-olds.
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| Osteoporosis | 3% to 6% | 13% to 18% |
| Osteopenia | 28% to 47% | 30% to 50% |
The lifetime incidence of hip fracture at age 50 is 17% to 22.7% in women and 6% to 11% in men (2, 3). The lifetime incidence of any osteoporosis-related fracture is 50% for women and 29% for men (4). Despite a lower prevalence and incidence, the 1-year mortality following hip fractures is 1.5 to 2 times higher in men than in women (5,6).
The hip fracture incidence in men reached the same level as in women at an age 5 to 6 years older. For example, an 80-year-old man had the same hip fracture risk as a 75-year-old woman (7). This is illustrated in Figure 1.
- Looker AC, Orwoll ES, Johnston CC Jr, Lindsay RL, Wahner HW, Dunn WL, Calvo MS, Harris TB, Heyse SP. Prevalence of low femoral bone density in older U.S. adults from NHANES III. J Bone Miner Res 1997; 12(11): 1769-71.
- Melton LJ 3rd, Kan SH, Wahner HW, Riggs BL. Lifetime fracture risk: An approach to hip fracture risk assessment based on bone mineral density and age. J Clin Epidemiol 1988; 41(10): 985-94.
- Oden A, Dawson A, Dere W, Johnell O, Jonsson B, Kanis JA. Lifetime risk of hip fractures is underestimated. Osteoporos Int 1998; 8(6): 599-603.
- Jones G, Nguyen T, Sambrook PN, Kelly PJ, Gilbert C, Eisman JA. Symptomatic fracture incidence in elderly men and women: The Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study (DOES). Osteoporos Int 1994; 4(5): 277-82.
- Kaufman JM, Johnell O, Abadie E, Adami S, Audran M, Avouac B, et al. Background for studies on the treatment of male osteoporosis: State of the art. Ann Rheum Dis 2000; 59(10): 765-72.
- Center JR, Nguyen TV, Schneider D, Sambrook PN, Eisman JA. Mortality after all major types of osteoporotic fracture in men and women: An observational study. Lancet 1999; 353(9156): 878-82.
- De Laet CE, van Hout BA, Burger H, Hofman A, Pols HA. Bone density and risk of hip fracture in men and women: Cross sectional analysis. BMJ 1997; 315(7102): 221-5.