Osteoporosis in Men: The Quieter Half of a Silent Disease

Osteoporosis has most commonly been regarded as a ‘woman’s disease’. However, recent evidence has demonstrated that the prevalence of osteoporosis and fragility fractures in men is far higher than previously believed. While there is a vast body of knowledge regarding the pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in women, there is a relative lack of information regarding these topics in men. However, data that can guide the effective treatment of men with osteoporosis and, perhaps more importantly, how to prevent the loss of bone to levels that would dramatically increase fracture risk, is starting to accumulate. Men may represent a dramatically underserved portion of the population with regard to the avoidance of debilitating, and often fatal, fragility fractures.