Efficacy of anti-osteoporosis treatment for men with osteoporosis: a meta-analysis.

Introduction: Osteoporosis and fracture are important healthcare problems for men worldwide, which are relevant to severe disability and mortality. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness of pharmacological therapy in men with osteoporosis, and to provide evidence-based hints for clinical practice.

Materials And Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science were searched from inception to July 31, 2022. Pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) and relative risk (RR) were calculated. Heterogeneity between included studies and publication bias were detected.

Results: Twenty clinical studies were enrolled in this meta-analysis. The pooled SMD for mean percentage differences of change from baseline in lumbar spine BMD between the treatment group and the control group was 4.95 (95% CI 2.48, 7.42, I = 99%, p < 0.0001). For mean percentage differences of change in femoral neck BMD, the overall SMD was 3.08 (95% CI 0.95, 5.20, I = 99%, p = 0.0045). For a change in total hip BMD, the overall SMD was 1.06 (95% CI 0.50, 1.63, I = 82%, p = 0.0002). The overall RR for incident vertebral fractures was 0.50 (95% CI 0.37, 0.68, I = 5%, p = 0.3971). The pooled RR for nonvertebral fractures and clinical fracture were 0.74 (95% CI 0.41, 1.33, I = 28%, p = 0.3139) and 0.81 (95% CI 0.54, 1.21, I = 0%, p = 0.2992).

Conclusion: Findings in this meta-analysis indicate that pharmacological treatment increases lumbar spine, femoral neck, total hip BMD, and decreases incident vertebral fractures in men with osteoporosis.