Research into male osteoporosis - a neglected area
An Aberdeen researcher is aiming to find out more about how the brittle bone disease osteoporosis affects men.
Although four times as many women get osteoporosis as men, men can develop an extreme form of the condition, which can lead to them losing several inches in height.
Now Dr Alison Stewart, who is based at the University of Aberdeen's Osteoporosis Research Unit at Woolmanhill Hospital, has been awarded a three-year £80,000 research fellowship by the Arthritis Research Campaign (arc) to compare the differences between male and female sufferers of osteoporosis. She wants to find out if men need to be given more advice on how to prevent the condition, and if they need different treatment to women.
As part of the newly set up Fracture Liaison Service in the city, all men and women over the age of 50 who attend the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with a fracture will automatically referred for DEXA and ultrasound scans to check the density of their bones. Results of scans will then be to sent to the patient's GP, and they will be given the opportunity to be seen by nurses, or attend the rheumatology clinic in Aberdeen.
Dr Stewart will compare risk factors and bone density between men and men, and also compare take-up rates of hospitals appointments and treatment offered between the genders. If there is a difference in bone density, clinical practice could be altered to enable doctors to prevent osteoporosis in men in a different way than is used for women.
"We suspect that men will not go for their scans because we don't think they're aware that osteoporosis is a condition that affects them," explained Dr Stewart. "Women are bombarded with information about HRT and the menopause in magazines, but men don't think much about it.
"We want to know if it's going to be cost effective to target men because if they don't turn up for their appointment in sufficient numbers it won't be worth doing."
There are no specific guidelines for the treatment of osteoporosis in men, who take the same drugs to control the condition as women. However, while women develop thin bones after the menopause due to hormonal changes, men develop osteoporosis for different reasons. Alcoholism and a hormonal condition called hyper gonadism are both risk factors.
Men can develop a form of the condition called spinal osteoporosis, which can lead to spinal fractures, and height loss of several inches.
