Family History May Indicate Higher Risk of Osteoporosis in Men

Men who have family history of a grandfather with hip fracture have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis, according to a doctoral thesis from Robert Rudäng of the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.

Rudäng analyzed a cohort of 1068 men aged 18 to 20 years at baseline who were enrolled in the Gothenburg Obesity and Osteoporosis Determinants (GOOD) study. He measured bone mass, bone geometry, microstructure, and bone strength in all of the subjects and collected information via a questionnaire about physical activity, calcium intake, smoking, and fracture prevalence.

Compared with men whose maternal or paternal grandfather had not broken a hip, grandsons of grandfathers with hip fracture were found to be at a 3% to 5% increased risk of osteoporosis as a result of low bone density and small cortical bone size.

Advancing maternal age was identified as another hereditary factor associated with lower bone mineral density in young adult male offspring, and fracture in childhood was determined to be a predictor of microstructure bone impairment. Lastly, smoking was an environmental risk factor found to negatively affect bone mass in young adult men.