160 J Med Assoc Thai Vol. 89 No. 2 2006 Correspondence to : Pongchaiyakul C, Division of Endocri- nology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand. Phone: 0-4336-3664, 0-4336-3746, Fax: 0-4334-7542, E-mail: pchatl@kku.ac.th J Med Assoc Thai 2006; 89 (2): 160-9 Full text. e-Journal: http://www.medassocthai.org/journal Prevalence of Osteoporosis in Thai Men Chatlert Pongchaiyakul MD*, Chalermchai Apinyanurag MD**, Supasil Soontrapa MD***, Sugree Soontrapa MD****, Choowong Pongchaiyakul BSc*****, Tuan V Nguyen PhD******, Rajata Rajatanavin MD******* * Departments of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen ** Departments of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen *** Departments of Orthopaedics, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen **** Departments of Obstetric and Gynecology, Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen ***** Nursing Division, Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen ****** Bone and Mineral Research Program, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia ******* Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University Background: Osteoporosis is a growing health problem not only in women but also in men. However, there is a scarcity of epidemiologic data to study osteoporosis in Thai men. Objectives: To examine the bone mineral density (BMD) and to determine the prevalence of osteoporosis in Thai men. Material and Method: A total of 412 men (159 from Bangkok and 253 from Khon Kaen, respectively) averag- ing 51 + 16 years of age, were measured for BMD at the femoral neck and lumbar spine by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (LUNAR Corporation, WI, USA). Results: The peak BMD was observed in men 20-29 years of age at both the femoral neck (mean + SD, 1.10 + 0.15 g/cm 2 ) and lumbar spine (mean + SD, 1.17 + 0.13 g/cm 2 ). The prevalence of osteoporosis in the entire group of subjects was 12.6, 4.6 and 3.9 per cent at the femoral neck, lumbar spine and both sites, respectively. The prevalence of osteoporosis increased with advancing age and was significantly higher at the femoral neck in urban men than rural men (18.2 vs 9.2 per cent, p < 0.05) but comparable at the lumbar spine (5.0 vs 4.3 per cent, p = 0.81). The correlation between femoral neck and lumbar spine BMDs was 0.53 (p < 0.001). In univariate analysis, increased age, lower weight and lesser height were each associated with lower femoral neck BMD, whereas only lower weight and lesser height were associated with lower lumbar spine BMD. However, when the three factors were entered simultaneously, only increased age and lower weight were significantly associated with lower femoral neck BMD and only lower weight had a significant associa- tion with lower lumbar spine BMD. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated descriptive BMD data, normal BMD reference values for diagno- sis and reported the prevalence of osteoporosis in Thai men. Keywords: Osteoporosis, Bone mineral density, Men, Thai, Epidemiology Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease characterized by relatively low bone mineral density (BMD), microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, and increased susceptibility to fracture (1) . With an aging global population, osteoporosis is fast becom- ing a worldwide concern because of its age-associated prevalence, costs, morbidity and mortality (2,3) . Although, osteoporosis is generally considered a condition affecting postmenopausal women, up to 20 and 30 per cent of symptomatic vertebral and hip fractures, respectively, occur in men (4-9) . As the world’s popula-