NBC NEWS – Osteoporosis is often described as a “silent disease” because there are few, if any, symptoms until someone fractures a bone, usually in the hip, wrist or spine. Women who have gone through menopause are at highest risk of bone loss, although it can also affect men.
For postmenopausal women younger than 65, the task force, an influential government-appointed panel of medical experts, reiterated the existing recommendation that if there are one or more risk factors such as low body weight, family history of broken hips, cigarette smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, a risk assessment questionnaire can determine if a scan is needed.
Task force member Dr. Esa Davis, professor of family and community medicine at University of Maryland, Baltimore, emphasized the importance of screening because osteoporosis causes bones to become weaker and fracture more easily, leading to disability, chronic pain, loss of independence and even death.
Between 21% to 30% of people who suffer a hip fracture die within a year, research has shown.
While there are few obvious symptoms, there may be signs that the condition is developing such as stooped posture, loss of height and discomfort in the bones. However, bone pain can also be a symptom of a variety of illnesses, including arthritis.
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“Osteoporosis is a serious bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone or both,” said Dr. Andrea Singer, chief medical officer of Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation.
What is osteoporosis screening?
“The term osteoporosis screening refers to use of bone density, x-ray studies or other tools to identify persons at an increased risk of fractures or bone breaks,” Dr. Thomas Weber, an endocrinologist at Duke University Medical Center who studies and treats patients with osteoporosis and metabolic bone disorders, said in an email …