Objective:​ The primary purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the characteristics of age-related changes in bone microstructure on high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT), areal bone mineral density (aBMD) on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and bone-related biochemical markers in men. The secondary purpose of this study was to examine how bone microstructure is related to aBMD and biochemical markers.

Methods:​ The subjects were 128 healthy Japanese men (20–97 years old). Bone microstructure was measured in the distal radius and tibia using second-generation HR-pQCT;​ aBMD in the proximal femur and lumbar spine was measured with DXA;​ and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b (TRACP-5b), type I procollagen-N-propeptide (P1NP), 25(OH) vitamin D, and pentosidine concentrations were measured by blood tests.

Results:​ In trabecular bone, the trabecular volumetric BMD (Tb.vBMD) and trabecular number (Tb.N) were lower with age (r = −0.23, −0.35) (r = −0.36,-0.33), and trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) and the star volume of marrow space (V*ms) were higher with age (r = 0.29, 0.41) (r = 0.34, 0.38) in both the radius and tibia.

In cortical bone, cortical volumetric BMD (Ct.vBMD) was lower with age (r = −0.25, −0.52), and cortical porosity (Ct.Po) was higher with age (r = 0.67, 0.62) in both the radius and tibia. In the tibia, cortical thickness (Ct.Th) and cortical area (Ct.Ar) were lower with age (r = −0.40) (r = −0.43), whereas, in the radius, they were maintained, and periosteal perimeter (Ct.Pm) was higher with age (r = 0.35).

aBMD in the proximal femur and P1NP were lower, and pentosidine was higher with increased age, whereas aBMD in the lumbar spine, TRACP-5b, and 25(OH) vitamin D had no relationships with age.

DXA and HR-pQCT showed strong correlations particularly with femoral aBMD and tibial Tb.vBMD and Ct.Ar (r = 0.61) (r = 0.61), whereas no DXA parameters were related with Ct.Po. In correlations between biochemical markers and HR-pQCT, TRACP-5b and total P1NP were negatively correlated with Ct.vBMD (r = −0.31) (r = −0.35), but almost no other correlations were seen.

Conclusions:​ Age-related changes of the bone microstructure in men were characterized by decreases in trabecular and cortical vBMD associated with decreased trabecular number, cavitation of the trabecular structure, and increased cortical porosity. Femoral aBMD was strongly related to bone microstructure in the tibia, whereas both lumbar aBMD and femoral aBMD were not related to Ct.Po, and biochemical markers showed almost no relationships with bone microstructure.