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SYDNEY - Older men might be less likely to break a bone than older women but after one fracture their risk skyrockets, new research has found.
One in three men over 60 who break a bone in a low impact fall will repeat the snap anywhere in their body in the next five years.
The findings from a landmark study of more than 4000 elderly people in the NSW town of Dubbo is the first to prove the brittle bone disease osteoporosis is more problematic in men than first thought.
"There is a clear perception out there that osteoporosis is a women's disease," says lead researcher Jacqueline Center, "probably because women are more likely to live longer, when the disease is most prevalent".
Women, with their thinner bones, are also twice as likely as men to have an initial break.
But results, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed one in three break victims would repeat the snap in the next five years.
And within a decade, half would have become repeat offenders.
"We found the protective effects of being a man disappeared altogether after the first fracture, putting them right up there with women who have also had a break," she said.
"This goes to show the perception out there is really quite wrong."
Dr Center, from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, and her team followed 2245 women and 1,760 men for 16 years to document fractures as part of the Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study.
Results showed 905 women and 337 men had an initial break, and 253 women and 71 men went on to have another one.
Those who had a minor break, in the wrist for example, were just as susceptible to repeating the event as those who broke a bigger bone, like the hip.
Dr Center said the results should serve as a warning to older men and doctors to make the link between broken bones and osteoporosis.
"A fracture of any kind resulting from minimal injury, such as a slip on the pavement, needs to be investigated as potential osteoporosis," she said.
"There are good treatments available and these can halve the likelihood of a subsequent fracture."
Osteoporosis affects more than two million Australians and is estimated to cost the country more than A$7 billion ($7.99 billion) a year.
The disease has also been linked to depression, loss of confidence and increased risk of premature death, especially in men.
- AAP
