The Latest Standards In Osteoporosis Screening

Since osteoporosis has becomee an international as well as national issue organizations developed useful and relevant osteoporosis screening guidelines. Some of these organizations include National Osteoporosis Foundation ( NOF) as well as National Osteoporosis Guideline Group (NOGG).These two organizations formulated osteoporosis screening guidelines that are compliant with criteria set by World Health Organization.

The tool commonly used for osteoporosis screening is FRAX Assessment Tool, which was developed by WHO.

Recently, newer osteoporosis screening guidelines for the United States were recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). This group is mainly tasked to revise and recommend osteoporosis screening guidelines that can be considered as more responsive by providing early detection and treatment. For example, older osteoporosis screening guidelines set by NOGG states that  osteoporosis screening starts at age 60 for women.

Lately, some guidelines have been modified, which includes early screening for women aged between 50-64 years old.

The main purpose behind these updates lies on determining bone fracture risk  that can happen in the next ten years. Also, screening a younger woman is important because there can be contributory factors that can lead to osteoporosis. For instance, instance, some women who over exercise, may have missed their monthly period and lost a lot of weight. If these conditions become too often, these supposedly healthy women are very prone to osteoporosis later in life. Another risk factor that increases vulnerability to osteoporosis are unhealthy habits like drinking much alcohol or smoking.

Today, different tests are conducted for osteoporosis screening. One of these tests is dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to measure the density of bones on spine, hip and wrist because these are the areas vulnerable to osteoporosis. Some additional tests like ultrasound, CT scanning and single photon absorptiometry can also be required by doctors for proper prognosis.

Nevertheless, there is another side of this issue that people must be aware of regarding screening. As a matter of fact, doctors would also discourage early screening for women who are considered low-risk. Why? False positive results are also possible so these women may be required to take medicines they don't really need at all. While osteoporosis screening does have benefits,it also has it share of risks.