Estrogen, Testosterone
Crucial in Men's Bone Health

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It's well-known that declining estrogen levels put postmenopausal women at increased risk for osteoporosis, an often-disabling disease marked by the loss of bone density.

Less clear is the role of estrogen in men's bone health. Previously, experts believed that the so-called male hormone testosterone was more important in keeping men's bones strong. But a growing amount of research suggests that estrogen is also a factor.

Bone is a living tissue that is constantly being created and destroyed by the body's cells. Now, new study results suggest that both estrogen and testosterone are key-and independent-regulators of this bone turnover in men.

Dr. Benjamin Z. Leder and colleagues conducted a 12-week study of 70 healthy men aged 20 to 44. The men had their hormone levels artificially suppressed, and were then divided into one of three groups. The hormones were replaced so that men either had low levels of both testosterone and estrogen, normal levels of both hormones or estrogen deficiency and normal testosterone levels.

The researchers then measured compounds in the men's blood that are indicators of bone formation and destruction, according to the report.

The results suggest that testosterone and estrogen are "independent mediators of bone resorption in young adult men," Leder, who is with Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, England, and colleagues write.

"Although quantifying the effects of each hormone is not possible in the present study, the importance of both androgens and estrogens needs to be considered when assessing the effects of all hormonal therapies or manipulations in men," they add.

SOURCE: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2003;88:204-210.

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