Hip Fractures in Men: The Estrogen Implication

Estrogen. Long considered female oriented hormones, has been found to be implicated in the increased risk of hip fracture in men. While bone density is a crucial issue for both men and women, with aging, the level of estrogen hormones has become a key, predominant factor, in addressing the likelihood of a fracture occurring in both genders. With the implication the estrogen hormone has on the hip fracture prevalence in men, the routine blood panel health screenings, for men, may soon include estrogen level confirmations. Understanding the role of estrogen in male bone health, and the implication estrogen plays on hip fractures, may decrease the incidence of hip fractures in men and, therefore, improve male mortality levels.

For men, a hip fracture results in a 50% chance of institutional care with very little chance of restored activity to the level and degree as that prior to the hip fracture incident. Even more unfortunate is the statistic that one-third of men, suffering from a hip fracture, will die within one year of the non-traumatic incident. While these statistics are significant to the mortality of men, very little research has been done to determine what, if any, the implication of hormones play on the bone health of men.

With recent discovery, estrogen has been determined to play a key role in the bone density of men as well as women. In men, however, the combination of low testosterone, in addition to low estrogen, attributed to more hip fractures than any other hormone level combination. While smoking is a health hazard, attributing to osteoporosis, low hormone levels, in men, are also of concern. So, what does this mean for men?