Osteoporosis is a condition that weakens bones, making them brittle and easier to break. Osteoporosis develops slowly over years and is often diagnosed only when a fall or sudden impact causes a bone to break (fracture). Men have larger bones than women. This means they will have greater bone reserves to draw on as they age, so their bone loss is much slower. Also, men do not experience the same rapid bone loss that women experience during and after menopause, the stage in a woman’s life when menstruation ceases. Because bone loss is slower in men and osteoporosis usually causes no symptoms, most men don’t know they have the condition until they suffer a fracture. Osteoporosis often goes unrecognized and untreated in men. And the number of men with osteoporosis is reportedly unknown. Osteoporosis is generally diagnosed using tests that measure bone strength and mass, called bone mineral density tests. But these tests are not particularly helpful in diagnosing the condition in men. This is because the bone density guidelines have standards designed for women. Average bone density in most healthy women is always lower than that seen in healthy men. This means that a man may have a lower bone mass compared to other men, but compared to women, his bone mass will be higher. This makes it difficult to determine whether a man has low bone density (osteopenia) or osteoporosis. Research confirms gender differences in osteoporosis, and that men with the disease often go undiagnosed and untreated even after sustaining fractures. A study found that less than 6% of patients had a bone mineral density measurement two years before sustaining a fracture, despite the fact that more than 60% experienced musculoskeletal pain and 48.5% had history of opiate use. Additionally, among the study participants, 92.8% had not been diagnosed with osteoporosis and were not being treated for osteoporosis at the time of the fractures. Less than 3% of cases were diagnosed with osteoporosis before the fracture but never received treatment. Only about 2% had been diagnosed and received appropriate treatment for osteoporosis. Bibliography: NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases. Osteoporosis in men Johns Hopkins Medicine. Osteoporosis: What you need to know as you age Williams S, Daigle S, Weiss R, et al. Characterization of older male patients with a fragility fracture