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OSTEOPOROSIS

General Info

Do you have what is known as the silent disease? The disease that over 28 million americans have? If you are a caucasian woman over the age of fifty you have a one in three chance of having osteoporosis or being highly at risk. Osteoporosis is the gradual thinning and weakening of the bones. You may not know you have it until you suffer a painful break. Thanks to new technology, Women's Health Practice has a convenient way for you to test for osteoporosis - and you can stay fully clothed and get an accurate bone density reading in just minutes. It is important to diagnose and treat osteoporosis before it becomes too painful and at Women's Health Practice. It's now easier than ever to protect your good health. All you have to do is lie down for a few moments for a comfortable, fast, and safe evaluation that will give you precise and immediate results discussed at your visit. So if you have not been tested for osteoporosis, especially if you are over the age of fifty, call women's health practice to schedule a fast and safe evaluation.

Osteoporosis and Women

• One half of all postmenopausal women are affected by osteoporosis.
• The risk of hip fracture is 2-3 times higher for women than for men; spinal osteoporosis is 8 times more likely to affect women than men.
• At age 50 a Caucasian woman has a 54% chance of an osteoporotic fracture in her remaining life. She has a 34% chance of suffering a spinal fracture, a 17% chance of hip fracture and a 16% chance of wrist fracture.
• After the age 50 a woman's risk of developing osteoporosis doubles every 5 years.
• For the average women, the risk of developing osteoporosis is greater than the combined risks of developing endometrial (cancer of the uterus) or breast cancer.
• Bone loss in women tends to begin at age 35 at a rate of 0.5-1% per year. This can increase to 3-7% per year for the first 3-5 years after menopause (and possibly beyond).
• Post-menopausal hormone replacement can reduce the risk of developing osteoporotic fractures by up to 50%

Who Should Have A Bone Density Test

• All postmenopausal women under 65 who have one or more additional risk factors for osteoporotic fracture (besides menopause)
• All women aged 65 and older regardless of additional risk factors
• Postmenopausal women who present with fractures (to confirm diagnosis and determine disease activity)
• Women who are considering therapy for osteoporosis, if BMD testing would facilitate the decision
• Women who have been on hormone replacement therapy for prolonged periods

Who Should Be Treated

The NOF recommends considering treatment if:

• T-score < -1.5 with risk factors
• T-score < -2 with no risk factors
• Postmenopausal with a fracture

Defining Osteoporosis by BMD

The World Health Organization (WHO) has established the following definitions based on bone density measurement at any skeletal site in white women.

Normal: T-score above -1 (BMD is within 1 SD of a "young normal" adult)

Osteopenia: T-score between -1 and -2.5 (BMD is between 1 and 2.5 SD below that of a "young normal" adult)

Osteoporosis: T-score at or below -2.5 (BMD is 2.5 SD or more below that of a "young normal" adult. Women in this group with one or more fractures are deemed to have severe or "established" osteoporosis.)

Although these definitions are necessary to establish the prevalence of osteoporosis, they should not be used as the sole determinant of treatment decisions.

Diagnosis, Assessment, Monitoring

Bone densitometry is an essential tool in osteoporosis management. Densitometry assists physicians in diagnosis, fracture risk assessment, and monitoring response to therapy.

DIAGNOSIS OF OSTEOPOROSIS

Physicians utilize bone densitometry to categorize patients as normal, osteopenic, or osteoporotic following the World Health Organization (WHO) classifications. The patient's T-score (comparison to the young adult reference) is the critical variable in diagnosis. Typically, both femurs and the spine are assessed, with the diagnosis made using the lowest T-score. Patient examination, in addition to the T-score, is key to diagnosing osteoporosis.

FRACTURE RISK ASSESSMENT

Bone mineral density (BMD) is the strongest tool to predict fracture risk, which increases exponentially as BMD decreases. Femur BMD is recognized as the strongest predictor of femur fracture risk, which has the highest morbidity, mortality and cost of all osteoporotic fractures. A decrease of 1 standard deviation (SD) in femur BMD corresponds to approximately a 3X increase in femur fracture risk. In comparison, a 1 SD decrease in spine BMD corresponds to a 2X increase in spine fracture risk.

MONITORING CHANGES IN BMD

Patients may return for bone density tests every 1-3 years, depending on the expected rate of loss and their clinical situation. BMD may increase over time as a response to therapy, or it may decrease with disease progression or poor response to therapy. Precision (reproducibility) of the BMD measurements is the key factor in detecting changes in patient BMD over time.

Living With Osteoporosis

• When vertebrae are affected by osteoporosis, it may cause loss of height, deforming curvature of the spine, and back pain.
• One-half of those who could walk unaided before a hip fracture cannot do so afterwards.
• Seven percent of women become unable to care for themselves after suffering an osteoporotic fracture

Patient Risk Assessment Form

Please complete the Patient Risk Assessment Form prior to your measurement. Click here to download the PDF file.

Dr. Suzanne Trupin Earns Certification in Bone Density Testing for Osteoporosis

The International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) has announced that Suzanne Trupin, MD, FACOG, of Women's Health Practice, recently attended the ISCD's Bone Densitometry Course in Chicago on December 06-07, 2003, and has been recognized as a Certified Clinical Densitometrist (CCD). She has taken the ISCD Bone Densitometry Course and passed a rigorous exam on done density testing for osteoporosis. There are over 5,000 certified clinicians and technologists worldwide. Certification in bone densitometry is a demonstration of proficiency and is a requirement for some insurance companies and HMOs. Dr. Suzanne Trupin and Women's Health Practice recently acquired a new, state-of-the-art LUNAR(TM) bone densitometer. The PRODIGY(TM) is the premier device for axial measurement of bone density.

ISCD is a nonprofit professional society of over 4,000 clinicians and technologists members from more than 40 countries. ISCD is dedicated to improving the quality of bone density testing for osteoporosis, educating healthcare providers, increasing patient awareness, and supporting scientific advances. The proliferation of new technologies for measuring bone density, combined with the development of improvement treatments for osteoporosis, has created great demand for the education and certification of healthcare providers.

Osteoporosis, a bone fragility disorder that can lead to fracture, is a disease that affects 44 million Americans, causing 1.5 million fractures each year, with an annual healthcare cost of about $17 billion. Osteoporotic fractures can result in chronic pain, disability, loss of independence, and even death. Early detection of low bone density before fractures occur is the key to successful management. Bone density is easily measured with an instrument called a bone densitometer, using DXA (Dual X-Ray Absorptiometry) technology. With medications now available and under development, experts feel that osteoporosis is a preventable and treatable diseaseónot an inevitable part of aging.

Jan Dedrick Earns Certification in Bone Density Testing for Osteoporosis

Jan Dedrick, of Women's Health Practice, has completed the neccesary requirements for a Certified Tech.

Sign Up for Osteoporosis Study

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