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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staff
Doctors use bone density testing to:
- Identify decreases in bone density before you break a bone
- Determine your risk of broken bones (fractures)
- Confirm a diagnosis of osteoporosis if you've experienced broken bones
- Monitor osteoporosis treatment
The higher your bone mineral content, the denser your bones are. And the denser your bones, the stronger they generally are and the less likely they are to break.
Bone density tests are not the same as bone scans. Bone scans require an injection beforehand and are usually used to detect fractures, cancer, infections and other abnormalities in the bone.
The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends bone density testing if:
- You're a woman age 65 or older
- You're a postmenopausal woman under age 65 with one or more risk factors for osteoporosis
- You're a man age 70 or older
- You're a man between age 50 and 70 with one or more risk factors for osteoporosis
- You're older than age 50 and you've experienced a broken bone
- You're a postmenopausal woman and you've stopped taking estrogen therapy or hormone therapy
Research hasn't yet determined the optimal interval for repeat bone density tests, or the right age to stop testing. However, two or more years may be needed between tests to reliably measure a change in your bone density. Your doctor can recommend the best testing interval for you based on your personal medical history and osteoporosis risk factors.
Osteoporosis risk factors
Risk factors for osteoporosis include:
- Getting older, which increases your risk of osteoporosis because bones become weaker as you age
- Ethnicity — for instance, women who are white or of Southeast Asian descent have the greatest risk of osteoporosis, and African-American and Hispanic men and women have a lower, but still significant, risk of the disease
- Low body weight, or under 125 pounds (56.7 kilograms) if you're of average height
- A personal history of fractures after age 40
- A parental history of osteoporosis or hip fractures
- Using certain medications that can cause bone loss, especially steroids
- Bone mass measurement: What the numbers mean. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Bone_Health/bone_mass_measure.asp. Accessed Aug. 19, 2009.
- Screening for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women: Recommendations and rationale. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/3rduspstf/osteoporosis/osteorr.htm. Accessed Aug. 19, 2009.
- Raisz LG. Screening for osteoporosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 19, 2009.
- Hansen KE, et al. Osteoporosis. In: Duthie EH, et al. Practice of Geriatrics. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/155482233-3/0/1532/150.html?tocnode=53845866&fromURL=150.html. Accessed Aug. 19, 2009.
- Bone density scan. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=dexa&bhcp=1. Accessed Aug. 19, 2009.
- Fast facts on osteoporosis. National Osteoporosis Foundation. http://www.nof.org/osteoporosis/diseasefacts.htm. Accessed Aug. 19, 2009.
- Lane NE. Metabolic bone disease. In: Firestein GS, et al. Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/155482233-4/0/1807/695.html?tocnode=55733918&fromURL=695.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3285-4..10092-0_3381. Accessed Aug. 19, 2009.
- Bone mineral density (BMD) testing: What the numbers mean. National Osteoporosis Foundation. http://www.nof.org/osteoporosis/bmdtest.htm. Accessed Aug. 25, 2009.
