[caption id="attachment_4288" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Bone density scanner"]
[/caption]GHN News Editor - The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has followed up with its 2002 guidelines, now recommending all women over age 65 be routinely tested for osteoporosis.
It is also recommended that younger women with
increased risk factors for osteoporosis be screened if their fracture
risk is equal to or greater than that of a 65-year-old white woman who
has no additional risk factors. White women are used as the benchmark
because they have a markedly higher rate of osteoporosis and fractures
than other ethnic groups. Risk factors for osteoporosis include tobacco
use, alcohol use, low body mass and parental history of fractures.
Risk for fractures continues to
increase with age and the evidence indicates that benefits can be
realized within 18 to 24 months after starting treatment. The USPSTF
also looked at whether to recommend screening men for osteoporosis but
found insufficient evidence to make a recommendation at this time. This
new final recommendation will become effective when it appears in the
January 18 online issue of Annals of Internal Medicine and will also be
available on the USPSTF Web site.
"As the number of people over the age of 65 in the United States
increases, osteoporosis screening continues to be important in detecting
women at risk who will benefit from treatment to prevent fractures,"
said Task Force Chair Ned Calonge, M.D., who is also the president and
CEO of The Colorado Trust. "Clinicians also should talk to their
younger patients to learn if they have risk factors that mean they
should be screened."
Osteoporosis screening involves a measurement of bone density, which
is currently covered by Medicare.
