Age-related changes in bone tissue in men

The purpose of the study was to establish age-related changes of male bone tissue. Materials and methods. The study was conducted by the Department of Clinical Physiology and Pathology of the Musculoskeletal System of the State Institution “D.F. Chebotarev Institute of Gerontology by the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”. It involved 342 healthy men aged 20 to 89 years without osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures or any pathology with a confirmed impact on bone tissue, as well as any somatic pathology in the sub- and decompensation. The following methods of examination were used: questionnaire, anthropometric measurements, clinical and instrumental examination. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry machine “Prodigy, GEНС Lunar” at the level of the entire skeleton, lumbar spine (L1-L4), proximal femur and femoral neck, distal and ultra-distal forearm bones. Results. We have detected a significant 14.8 % decrease of BMD at the level of femoral neck in the group of men aged 60–69 years, by 20 % in the group of men aged 70–79 years, and by 24.1% in the group of men aged 80–89 years compared to the men aged 20–29 years; at the same time, at the lumbar spine there was registered a decrease of this parameter by 1.6 % in men aged 60–69 years, by 1.9 % in men of 70–79 years and by 0.8 % in men of 80–89 years, respectively. Among the examined practically healthy men, the bone tissue remained at the normal level relative to age in 67.8%; osteopenia was detected in 27.8 %, and osteoporosis in 4.4%. Conclusions. An age-associated BMD reduction was registered at various skeletal sites in the practically healthy men without any clinically significant factors affecting bone tissue metabolism. The most pronounced BMD loss was observed at the level of femoral neck. At the same time, 4.4 % of examined had osteoporosis without any clinical signs.