• Osteoporosis is currently conventionally diagnosed on the basis of lumbar spine or hip bone densitometry using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
• In post-menopausal women, osteoporosis can be diagnosed if lumbar spine, total hip, or femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) is 2.5 or more standard deviations below the mean peak BMD of the reference population (T-score ≤-2.5).
• Portable peripheral skeletal DXA and heel ultrasound scanners may have a role in providing information about bone health and fracture risk if hip/spine DXA is not available.
• There are some simple radiographic, magnetic resonance (MR) and bone scintigraphic patterns of abnormality useful in pointing towards a diagnosis of osteoporosis (and osteoporotic fracture).
This online reference on osteoporosis serves as a concise guide covering all aspects of the condition, including its causes, diagnosis and current up-to-date therapies. It also includes specific sections covering osteoporosis in certain at-risk patient groups.
Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up to date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work.
