It's true. Men get osteoporosis, too. We just get it about 10 years later than women.

"Men start with bigger bones so it takes longer for them to lose enough bones mass to where their bones are fragile enough that they'll break," said Dr. John Swartzberg, head of the editorial board at the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter

Swartzberg says the major risk factors are the same for both men and women.

"The older you are the greater the risk. If you have a family history of fractures, if you're Caucasian or Asian, if you have low bodyweight or are of really small stature."

Smokers and heavy drinkers also have a higher incidence of osteoporosis.

Some medications, such a steroids, can affect your bones if they're taken for a long time.

Dr. Swartzberg says we don't really know why men lose bone mass, since we don't go through menopause.

"Some people have tried to correlate this with testosterone and the studies with that have frankly been mixed."

For More Information:

MedlinePlus: Osteoporosis

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