High risk of osteoporosis in male patients with eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE Osteoporosis has traditionally been considered a female problem. This study's purpose is to evaluate bone mineral density (BMD) in males with eating disorders. METHOD Charts of 70 consecutive males admitted to an eating disorder program were reviewed. Females admitted during the same time period were used for comparison. BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS Thirty-six percent (19/53) had osteopenia and 26% (14/53) had osteoporosis at the lumbar spine. A disproportionate number of males with anorexia restricting or binge/purge subtype (ANR/ANB) had osteoporosis, as well as those of older age, lower weights, and longer illness duration. BMD for ANR and ANB males was significantly lower than females (p = .02 and p = .03, respectively). In multivariate stepwise linear and logistic regression, lowest BMI and illness duration predicted lumbar Z-scores. CONCLUSION Males with ANR/ANB often have severe bone disease, which is worse than females, and is best predicted by a patient's lowest BMI and illness duration.