OSTEOPOROSIS: A Wake-Up Call for Men

It's not just women who have to worry about bone loss

BY:MYRA DEMBROW

Osteoporosis, which affects about 8 million post-menopausal American women, probably isn't at the top of the list as a male health problem. But it certainly shouldn't be ignored, especially if an older man has a low estrogen level.

Although most people think of testosterone as the male hormone and estrogen as the female hormone, healthy people actually have some of both. A study in the May 2006 issue of The American Journal of Medicine found that older men with low levels of estrogen were more than three times as likely to break a hip when they fall as other men. That risk factor more than doubles for those lacking both estrogen and testosterone.

Too little is known to make taking an estrogen supplement a viable option for men. But researchers at the Mayo Clinic say men can take calcium and Vitamin D supplements, perhaps with other medications, to reverse bone loss and cut their risks.