Estrogen in men: effects on bone accrual, maintenance and prevention of bone loss.

Sex steroid hormones play an important role in the maintenance of bone mass in males as well as in females. Even though androgens represent the major sex steroid class in men, their primacy in regulating male skeletal remodeling has been questioned increasingly as direct and indirect evidence has emerged suggesting that estrogens also play a major role in male skeletal health. This review summarizes clinical and experimental evidence that estrogens are essential for bone accrual in the growing skeleton, maintenance of bone mass and prevention of bone loss in men.