By Paul Candon, Medical Tribune News Service
The ability to absorb calcium drops progressively in older men
as they age, decreasing sharply after age 80, according to a new
study. In men, this decreased ability to absorb calcium may lead to
osteoporosis, a loss of bone density that weakens bones, making
them more likely to fracture.
``Osteoporosis is a very important clinical and public health
problem, not only in women, but also in men,'' said Randi Wolf.
Wolf is a research associate at the University of Pittsburgh
Graduate School of Public Health.
She headed the research and presented these findings at the
national meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral
Research Sunday in St. Louis.
The research included 234 men, ages 58 to 91, who participated
in the federally funded Study of Osteoporotic Risk in Men. The
investigators evaluated the men's bone mineral density, which
indicates how hard and dense bones are.
Then, 6.8 years later, they evaluated the men's bone density
again. A low bone mineral density is generally a sign of
osteoporosis.
The investigators found that the older a man was, the less
calcium he was able to absorb from his diet. On average, the men
absorbed 34 percent of the calcium that they took in. However, this
ranged from 16 percent to 57 percent, indicating that some men were
better than others at absorbing calcium.
In addition, men who were able to absorb more calcium showed a
lower rate of hip bone loss. This indicates that the decreasing
ability to absorb calcium during aging in men may contribute to
osteoporosis.
According to Wolf, women have been the main focus of
osteoporosis research because of the abrupt, increased risk for
osteoporosis associated with menopause. At menopause, production of
estrogen, the main female hormone, drops significantly. In women,
estrogen helps incorporate calcium into bone.
However, up to age 80, the progression of bone loss in men is
slow, Wolf said. Therefore, osteoporosis may have different causes
in men and women.
Calcium absorption, according to this study, appears to be one
of the causes in men.
Wolf added that ``the ability to absorb calcium is just one of
many other factors that may contribute to bone loss in men. In the
overall picture, it's probably just a very small piece of the
puzzle.'' She emphasized that the study she presented had
established a correlation between high bone density and high
calcium absorption; a direct cause and effect in men has not yet
been found.
Other factors contributing to bone loss in aging men could be a
decrease in testosterone, estrogen, amount of exercise or calcium
intake, Wolf said.
Different dietary, genetic or lifestyle factors could be at work
was well, she explained.
In future research, Wolf and her colleagues plan to study why
some men are able to absorb more calcium than others as during the
aging process.
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (www.nof.org),
one out of eight men above age 50 will experience an
osteoporosis-related fracture in the remainder or his life.
To treat osteoporosis in men, the NOF recommends a daily intake
of 1,000 milligrams of calcium for younger men and 1,200 to 1,500
milligrams for men over 65. They also recommend 400 to 800
international units of vitamin D per day. Patients should follow an
exercise or physical therapy program as well.
In addition, the specific cause of bone loss should be
identified and treated. Therefore, if low amounts of a hormone are
found to be causing bone loss, a drug therapy to alleviate the
deficiency should be considered.
They also advise that common household hazards like unlit
stairways and slippery floors should be avoided in order to prevent
accidents and fractures.
