Osteoporosis screening guidelines updated: Do you need a bone scan?
At least 1 in 5 women older than 50 in the U.S. have osteoporosis, but many don’t realize it. How strong are your bones?
How strong are your bones?
At least 1 in 5 women older than 50 in the U.S. have osteoporosis, but many don’t realize it.
Women 65 years and older should have a bone density scan to screen for osteoporosis, updated guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend.
Osteoporosis is often described as a “silent disease” because there are few, if any, symptoms until someone fractures a bone, usually in the hip, wrist or spine. Women who have gone through menopause are at highest risk of bone loss, although it can also affect men.
For postmenopausal women younger than 65, the task force, an influential government-appointed panel of medical experts, reiterated the existing recommendation that if there are one or more risk factors such as low body weight, family history of broken hips, cigarette smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, a risk assessment questionnaire can determine if a scan is needed.
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