Assessment of Secondary Causes of Osteoporosis and Racial Differences in Men with Normal vs. Abnormal Bone Mineral Density in a Cohort of Men Undergoing Bone Mass Measurement.

ABSTRACT

Osteoporosis is a condition generally associated with olderwomen, but it is rapidly becoming a growing problem for males as well. Screening and treating men early is the only way to address this problem. The known demographic factors of osteoporosis in males such as age, race and BMI as well as secondary causes oflow bone mineral density (BMD) i.e. osteoporosis, have not been well examined in the actual practice settingbased on available literature. This study aims to describe the prevalence of the demographic factors and secondary causes in men with low BMD and also to assess their individual contribution to the overall prevalence. A retrospective chart review of 585 men who underwent bone density scan at the University of Mississippi Medical Center from 2005-2012 was performed. At the time of their scans, patients were also asked to complete a questionnaire assessing demographics, comorbidities, social factors, and medication use. The results suggest that racial difference and differences in secondary causes exist in the epidemiology of male osteoporosis, and this needs to be assessed further. The notion that African American males are protected from OP is unsupported in our data as well as the literature. Overall our research demonstrated that low BMI is the most important factor associated with low BMD in male patients.