Bone Health

Candace Cooley has carried out DEXA bone density evaluations, and the entries in this index explain what that test measures and why bone matters in a woman’s middle and later years. The National Institute on Aging calls osteoporosis a silent disease, one that often goes unnoticed until a bone breaks, usually in the hip, spine or wrist; it develops when more bone is broken down than replaced, and it affects about one in five women over 50 compared with one in 20 men. The institute adds that at the time of menopause women may lose bone mass quickly for several years.¹

Measurement is the subject of most of the entries. MedlinePlus describes the DEXA scan as a low dose X ray that measures calcium and other minerals in bone, used to diagnose osteopenia and osteoporosis, to predict the risk of future fractures and to see whether treatment is working.² The result arrives as a score. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases explains that a T score compares bone density with that of a healthy young adult and is used after menopause, while a Z score compares it with the average for people of the same age, sex and ethnicity and is used for younger women.³

The five entries are Osteoporosis, Dual Energy X Ray Absorptiometry, Osteoporosis Screening, T Scores and Z Scores and Bone and the Menopause Transition.