Age-associated reduction in cortical bone in males, trends from the third century AD to the present day

Osteoporosis is increasingly recognised as a health threat in the ageing male. Risk factors for osteoporosis appear to have increased through time. This study investigates the hypothesis that lifestyle changes (e.g. increasing sedentism, tobacco use) over the past 1,800 years have resulted in greater age-related reduction in cortical bone in males in more recent compared with earlier times in England. Skeletons (N = 215) from three English archaeological sites dating from the third to nineteenth century AD, together with comparison with a modern reference population, are used to investigate this hypothesis. Metacarpal cortical thickness is used as a measure of cortical bone status. Results of this cross-sectional study do not support the above hypothesis but instead suggest that patterns of age-related reduction in cortical bone in males have remained stable over an 1,800 year period.