A study suggested that senior women can hold off on osteoporosis exams for 10 years if their bone mineral density is normal.
Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine found that women 67 and older with BMD T-scores, a value that compares the bone density of 30-year-old individuals of the same sex and ethnicity, are not likely to see a significant change in their orthopedic health for more than a decade.
The Dept. of Health & Human Services’ Preventive Services Task Force recommends that women 65 and older be routinely screened for bone degeneration from osteoporosis at two-year intervals. The study, which was presented yesterday at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone Mineral Research in Toronto by lead researcher and UNC professor Dr. Margaret Gourlay, suggests otherwise.
“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. Our study found it would take about 16 years for 10 percent of women in the highest bone density ranges to develop osteoporosis,” Gourlay said in prepared remarks.
