New evidence-based guidelines suggested for osteoporosis screening

Women with healthy bones at age 67 can safely skip repeat osteoporosis screenings for a decade, new data suggest. A study presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone Mineral Research analyzed data from 5,035 women aged 67 and older enrolled in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. Some were tested up to five times over 15 years, but the research indicates women with bone mineral density T-scores higher than -1.49 don’t need such frequent screenings.

“If a woman's bone density at age 67 is very good, then she doesn't need to be re-screened in two years or three years, because we're not likely to see much change," saysstudy author Margaret L. Gourlay, M.D., MPH, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. “Our study found it would take about 16 years for 10 percent of women in the highest bone density ranges to develop osteoporosis.”