More Men Are Being Diagnosed With Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a common problem among women as they get older. However, men need to know more about the disease as well.

85-year-old Bill Dodds is a regular at the fitness center these days and has been, ever since he learned he has a disease without any apparent symptoms.

"Here I am, 85, never knew, never knew, never had a sign that I had osteoporosis, but I'm walking around with it," said Dodds.

Bill Dodds and most other Americans believe that osteoporosis is a woman's disease, but more than 2 million American men have it and many more are at risk.

Dodds does not notice any signs of osteoporosis, and that is not unusual.

Very often, people learn they have it after they suffer a debilitating hip or spinal fracture.

Dodds was lucky because his doctor tested him before that happened, and now he is part of a National Institute of Health Study on men and osteoporosis.

"There's a lot that we don't know but I think one of the major problems that men have is that not only they themselves but their physicians don't even recognize it as a threat. And yet, about 25% of the cost of fractures in this country are fractures in men," said National Institute of Health's Dr. Joan McGowan.

The N.I.H. has studied six thousand men over the past seven years and Dr. McGowan believes it will answer a lot of questions.

In the meantime, she says older men and their doctors need to pay attention to warning signs.

"Any fracture in an older person is really a sentinel event. And although an orthopedic surgeon can certainly fix it and they do, it should get attention," said Dr. McGowan.

Men should have a bone density test for starters to identify the problem early.

Then the same strategies that prevent bone damage in women can help men.

"They should have enough calcium and vitamin D. Vitamin D becomes increasingly important as we age and even as we stay more in our offices than outside. And also physical activity because the less active you are, the less your bone perceives they really need to be there," said Dr. McGowan.

Bill Dodds and his son Jeff are learning about osteoporosis together now because they know that a family history raises your risk.

"It would certainly be in my best interest to get screened but the thing is that I know there are many things I could be doing now by eating well, following a healthy diet, and getting regular exercise, that I can do to prevent or stave off this problem of osteoporosis," said Jeff Dodds.

Doctors already have guidelines about when women should be screened for osteoporosis and how to prevent bone damage, but those kinds of recommendations do not yet exist for men.

The National Institutes of Health Study hopes to produce some soon.
source:www.firstcoastnews.com