Gender differences in osteoporosis treatment: a review of clinical research

Morbidity from osteoporosis in the aging population is substantial in both men and women; however, therapeutic options approved by the Food and Drug Administration are open only for use in women. A literature search was performed to define gender differences in pharmacologic osteoporosis treatments in published research. Only two studies on the efficacy of pharmacologic osteoporosis interventions in both genders were found, both of which involved glucocorticoid-treated patients. There is clearly a lack of information on osteoporosis treatment approaches in men compared to women, despite the increasingly recognized risk of osteoporosis in men. Although there are no approved therapies for osteoporosis in men in the United States, the scant but promising evidence suggests potential benefit from alendronate and risedronate in men as well as women. Further gender-comparative research regarding nonestrogenic approaches to osteoporosis is warranted.