The effect of osteoporosis on quality of life in men

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a bone disease which may cause fractures as a result of reduced bone mineral density and disrupted bone micro architecture also decreasing the quality of life.Methods: Bone mineral density of lomber spine and femoral neck were measured by dual enerrgy X-ray absorptiometry and the results with osteoporosis in 113 men identified from the group consisting of the patients with both bone mineral density in normal participants formed the control group 67 persons were included in this study. A questionnaire, which was prepared for assessment of sociodemographic features and risk factors for osteoporosis, and quality of life scales were administered to the 113 osteoporotic cases and control group, consisted of 67 normal. Face to face interview method was used. Student?s t test, ANOVA, Linear regression analysis and Pearson?s correlation analysis were used in statistical assessments. P < 0.05 value was accepted as significant.Results: It has been concluded that osteoporosis decreases the quality of life as measured by both SF-36 and QUALEFFO-41 scales. The factors related to quality of life are fracture, alcohol consuption and smoking. Femoral neck and lumbar spine bone mineral density in men with osteoporosis were lower than those of cigarette and alcohol use (p<0,001).Conclusion: As a result, screening studies to identify osteoporotic cases under high risk for decreased quality of life, educating individuals about the risk factors of osteoporosis and how to prevent them and encouraging for life style modifications is essential.Key Words: Quality of life, osteoporosis, risk factors, scale