Introduction:

Male osteoporosis is a heterogeneous and underdiagnosed clinical condition and with multiple risk factors, which requires a diagnostic process that is sometimes more complex than for women.

Objective:

To identify biological factors related to bone mass in middle-aged men from "Vedado" University Polyclinic.

Methods:

A cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out with 43 middle-aged (40-59 years old) men, between April 2017 and May 2018. The variables were family pathological history of osteoporosis or fragility fractures, body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, glycemia, cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine, luteinizing hormone, stimulating follicle, estradiol, testosterone, prolactin and parathyroid hormone, and dual x-ray densitometry. According to age and results of the dual x-ray densitometry, four groups were created (40-49 and 50-59 years old, in L1-L4 and femur). The men with normal bone and poor bone mass were identified. Frequency distributions (qualitative variables), as well as median and range (quantitative variables) were determined. The chi-square test was used to determine the relationship between qualitative variables, and the Mann-Whitney test was used for quantitative variables. To establish correlation between quantitative variables, the Pearson test was used.

Results:

Among men aged 50-59 years and with a family pathological history of fragility fractures, poor bone mass prevailed (75 %). The median body mass index among men aged 40-49 years was higher (26.7 kg/m2sc) in those with normal bone in L1-L4; among those aged 50-59 years and with increased waist circumference, poor bone mass predominated (3; 75 %). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were correlated positively with bone mineral density in L1-L4 [(r = 0.225, p = 0.009), (r = 0.263, p = 0.002)]. There was a positive correlation between cholesterol and bone mineral content in the femur (r = 0.164, p = 0.002). T was lower among men with normal bone (15.3 nmol/L for the group 40-49 years old, and 12.5 nmol/L for the group 50-59 years old). A negative correlation was observed between the parathyroid hormone and bone mineral content values in the femur (r = -0.324, p = 0.000).

Conclusions:

Among the biological factors studied in middle-aged men from "Vedado" University Polyclinic, higher levels of blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as lower levels of the parathyroid hormone were concluded to be associated with better bone mass.

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