Androgen and bone mass in men.

Androgens have multiple actions on the skeleton throughout life. Androgens promote skeletal growth and accumulation of minerals during puberty and adolescence and stimulate osteoblast but suppress osteoclast function, activity and lifespan through complex mechanisms. Also androgens increase periosteal bone apposition, resulting in larger bone size and thicker cortical bone in men. There is convincing evidence to show that aromatization to estrogens was an important pathway for mediating the action of testosterone on bone physiology. Estrogen is probably the dominant sex steroid regulating bone resorption in men, but both testosterone and estrogen are important in maintaining bone formation.