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Review
. 2015 Dec;13(6):390-8.
doi: 10.1007/s11914-015-0289-5.

Bone Density Screening and Re-screening in Postmenopausal Women and Older Men

Margaret L Gourlay  1 , Robert A Overman  2 , Kristine E Ensrud  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Bone Density Screening and Re-screening in Postmenopausal Women and Older Men

Margaret L Gourlay et al. Curr Osteoporos Rep. 2015 Dec.

Abstract

Clinical practice guidelines universally recommend bone mineral density (BMD) screening to identify osteoporosis in women aged 65 years and older. Risk assessment is recommended to guide BMD screening in postmenopausal women under age 65. Insufficient data are available to inform standard ages to start and stop BMD screening in postmenopausal women. Based on longitudinal studies of incident osteoporosis and fracture in postmenopausal women, an initial BMD test should be ordered for all women aged 65, and the frequency of re-screening should be based on age and BMD T score (more frequent testing for older age and lower T score). Although clinical practice guidelines recommend BMD screening according to risk factors for fracture in postmenopausal women under age 65, no standard approach to risk assessment exists. Minimal evidence is available to guide osteoporosis screening in men, but some experts recommend initiation of BMD screening in men at age 70.

Keywords: Bone density; Men; Osteoporosis; Postmenopausal women; Screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Dr. Gourlay is supported by Grant Number R01 AG046294 from the National Institute on Aging. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the official views of the funding agency.

Dr. Overman and Dr. Ensrud have nothing to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Cumulative incidence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women aged 50 to 64 (Women’s Health Initiative) vs. 67 years and older (Study of Osteoporotic Fractures). The intersection of each plot with the 10 % dotted line threshold is the time for 10 % of women to develop osteoporosis by BMD criteria
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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