Risk-Based, Centralized Screening may Improve Osteoporosis Care in Men: JAMA

Compared to usual care, the risk-based centralized strategy led to significantly higher screening completion rates. Importantly, it also increased the number of men who started pharmacologic therapy for osteoporosis, with better persistence and adherence to prescribed medications. This is particularly relevant given that men tend to present later in the course of osteoporosis, often after experiencing a fragility fracture, leading to worse outcomes compared to women.

The authors suggest that integrating centralized screening pathways within health systems may reduce the burden on primary care providers, while ensuring that men at greatest risk are not overlooked. Such approaches could ultimately reduce fracture incidence, health care costs, and disability related to osteoporosis.

Further research is needed to evaluate scalability across diverse populations and health systems, as well as to assess long-term impacts on fracture prevention and mortality. Still, the results add to growing evidence that proactive, risk-based, and system-level interventions can close existing gaps in men’s osteoporosis care.

Keywords: osteoporosis, men’s health, fracture risk, DXA screening, cluster randomized trial, JAMA, centralized care, pharmacologic therapy, adherence, bone health