Background: Osteoporosis is a growing health problem not only in women but also in men. However, there is a scarcity of epidemiologic data to study osteoporosis in Thai men.
Objectives: To examine the bone mineral density (BMD) and to determine the prevalence of osteoporosis in Thai men.
Material and Method: A total of 412 men (159 from Bangkok and 253 from Khon Kaen, respectively) averaging 51 + 16 years of age, were measured for BMD at the femoral neck and lumbar spine by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (LUNAR Corporation, WI, USA).
Results: The peak BMD was observed in men 20-29 years of age at both the femoral neck (mean + SD, 1.10 + 0.15 g/cm2) and lumbar spine (mean + SD, 1.17 + 0.13 g/cm2). The prevalence of osteoporosis in the entire group of subjects was 12.6, 4.6 and 3.9 per cent at the femoral neck, lumbar spine and both sites, respectively. The prevalence of osteoporosis increased with advancing age and was significantly higher at the femoral neck in urban men than rural men (18.2 vs 9.2 percent, p < 0.05) but comparable at the lumbar spine (5.0 vs 4.3 percent, p = 0.81). The correlation between femoral neck and lumbar spine BMDs was 0.53 (p < 0.001). In univariate analysis, increased age, lower weight and lesser height were each associated with lower femoral neck BMD, whereas only lower weight and lesser height were associated with lower lumbar spine BMD. However, when the three factors were entered simultaneously, only increased age and lower weight were significantly associated with lower femoral neck BMD and only lower weight had a significant association with lower lumbar spine BMD.
Conclusion: The present study demonstrated descriptive BMD data, normal BMD reference values for diagnosis and reported the prevalence of osteoporosis in Thai men.

Keywords: Osteoporosis, Bone mineral density, Men, Thai, Epidemiology