OBJECTIVE: Osteoporosis has traditionally been considered a female problem. This study's purpose is to evaluate bone mineral density (BMD) in males with eating disorders. METHOD: Charts of 70 consecutive males admitted to an eating disorder program were reviewed. Females admitted during the same time period were used for comparison. BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: Thirty-six percent (19/53) had osteopenia and 26% (14/53) had osteoporosis at the lumbar spine. A disproportionate number of males with anorexia restricting or binge/purge subtype (ANR/ANB) had osteoporosis, as well as those of older age, lower weights, and longer illness duration. BMD for ANR and ANB males was significantly lower than females (p = .02 and p = .03, respectively). In multivariate stepwise linear and logistic regression, lowest BMI and illness duration predicted lumbar Z-scores. CONCLUSION: Males with ANR/ANB often have severe bone disease, which is worse than females, and is best predicted by a patient's lowest BMI and illness duration.
OBJECTIVE:Osteoporosis has traditionally been considered a female problem. This study's purpose is to evaluate bone mineral density (BMD) in males with eating disorders. METHOD: Charts of 70 consecutive males admitted to an eating disorder program were reviewed. Females admitted during the same time period were used for comparison. BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: Thirty-six percent (19/53) had osteopenia and 26% (14/53) had osteoporosis at the lumbar spine. A disproportionate number of males with anorexia restricting or binge/purge subtype (ANR/ANB) had osteoporosis, as well as those of older age, lower weights, and longer illness duration. BMD for ANR and ANB males was significantly lower than females (p = .02 and p = .03, respectively). In multivariate stepwise linear and logistic regression, lowest BMI and illness duration predicted lumbar Z-scores. CONCLUSION: Males with ANR/ANB often have severe bone disease, which is worse than females, and is best predicted by a patient's lowest BMI and illness duration.
Authors: Melanie Schorr; Anne Drabkin; Micol S Rothman; Erinne Meenaghan; Gillian T Lashen; Margherita Mascolo; Ashlie Watters; Tara M Holmes; Kate Santoso; Elaine W Yu; Madhusmita Misra; Kamryn T Eddy; Anne Klibanski; Philip Mehler; Karen K Miller Journal: Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) Date: 2019-04-01 Impact factor: 3.478