John T. Schousboe, MD, MS, Park Nicollet Osteoporosis Center, Park Nicollet Health Services, Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Fractures related to osteoporosis are increasingly recognized as a serious public health problem among older men. As in women, bone densitometry has substantial utility to aid in the identification of older men at high risk of fracture and for whom fracture prevention therapies are indicated. This article briefly reviews the epidemiology of osteoporosis and associated fractures in men, the association of bone mineral density with fractures in men, indications for bone densitometry among older men, and the interpretation of bone mineral density test results in men.
Key words: osteoporosis, bone mineral density, densitometry, men, fractures.