Osteoporosis is a degenerative condition that affects the bones and leaves the sufferer vulnerable to fractures. The disease mainly affects older women and if you’re at risk of developing the condition, your GP might consider referring you for bone mineral density tests, carried out via a special x-ray called a DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry).
A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests these tests don’t need to be carried out frequently if a woman’s results in the bone density test are normal or near normal. In fact, the study concludes that those women may not need another test for at least 15 years.
The purpose of the study, carried out by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, was to analyse whether women at a lower risk of developing osteoporosis were being over tested.
The study concluded that women at the highest risk should be screened annually to have the best chance of stopping the disease progressing – there is no cure for osteoporosis. For those women whose risk was moderate, the interval between DEXA scans should be five years while those at the lowest risk may not need to be screened for at least 15 years, only presenting for a scan in the meantime if symptoms were present.
In the UK, there is no national screening programme for osteoporosis. GPs will generally refer those aged 75 and over who are at risk of developing the disease for a DEXA scan. However, if you are under 75 and in at the at-risk group, you too can be referred for screening. Those at risk include women who have gone through the menopause before the age of 45; with a family history of osteoporosis; have suffered a bone fracture; or has a diet lacking in calcium.
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