Postmenopausal women may unknowingly have bone loss great enough
to put them at short-term risk of bone fracture. This was the
startling conclusion of a study of over 200,000 women over age 50
who did not have a previous diagnosis of osteoporosis.

Bone scans revealed that 40% of the women had lost bone density
while an additional 7% had advanced bone loss (osteoporosis). The
women were followed up a year later to see how many broke bones.
The fracture rate in women with low bone density was nearly
double that of normal women, and four times higher in women with
osteoporosis. In addition, at the start of the study, 11% of
women reported they had already had at least one fracture since
age 45.

If you’re a middle-aged woman or older, we urge you to come in for an assessment of your risk. You can also get more
information from our osteoporosis web page.

Source: Siris, ES et al, Identification and fracture outcomes of
undiagnosed low bone mineral density in postmenopausal women:
results from the National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment, JAMA.
2001 Dec 12;286(22):2815-22