[Osteoporosis in men].

Male osteoporosis represents an important public health problem. According to NHANES III (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey), 7% of white men aged 50 years and over have osteoporosis. One-third of all hip fractures occurred in men and prevalence of death after hip fracture is twice as high as in women. Hypogonadism, alcohol abuse and glucocorticoid excess are the most frequent causes of secondary osteoporosis in men, while in 30-50% of cases osteoporosis is idiopathic. In the article we discuss etiology, epidemiology, diagnostic procedure and treatment of osteoporosis in men.