| There are several ways to diagnose osteoporosis. The most accurate and essentially painless way to determine whether an individual has osteoporosis is to perform a special X-ray method called densitometry. Densitometry provides measurements of bone quantity or bone mineral density (BMD). The BMD of a patient is compared with that of a young adult of the same sex with peak bone mass (often referred to as the "young adult mean"). According to the World Health Organization, if the BMD is significantly lower-in scientific terms, 2.5 standard deviations below the young adult mean-the patient is diagnosed with osteoporosis. At this time there are four diagnostic categories for bone loss. Ideally, an individual's BMD would be normal, or close to that of a young adult with peak bone mass. If there is some loss of bone mass but not enough to diagnose a patient with osteoporosis, the next category would be osteopenia, or 'low bone mass.' Osteoporosis is the next category. The most extreme case is severe osteoporosis (established osteoporosis). Diagnosis seems simple enough and doesn't take very long. However, osteoporosis is often referred to as the "silent" disease; a majority of people with osteoporosis are diagnosed only after the disease has run its course for a number of years and a broken wrist, hip, rib or vertebra brings them to a doctor or hospital. Unfortunately, most X-ray technology does not detect osteoporosis until there is about 30 percent bone loss, so even a trip to the hospital for X-rays of a broken bone may not show the onset or progression of osteoporosis. If you at risk for the disease (see the list below), you may consider consulting your health care provider for osteoporosis testing options. Risk Factors:
Privacy
| Terms
& Conditions
|
