Early detection of osteoporosis can be made at any age
by measuring bone mineral density (BMD), in order to
identify those individuals who need intervention for
preventing fractures. According to the recommendations
of a WHO task force, osteoporosis is defined in women as
a BMD that lies 2.5 standard deviations or more below
the average for the young healthy female population2,3.
The same absolute BMD value can be utilized for men3
.
The preferred site for diagnostic assessment, particularly
in the elderly, is the hip, using dual X-ray absorptiometry.
Many studies indicate that the risk of fragility fractures
increases progressively as BMD declines, and that there is
a close relationship between the prevalence of osteoporosis,
as assessed accordingly to the WHO criteria, and
the incidence of fractures