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The more important risk factors* used
to decide if you should screen for osteoporosis:
- Old Age
- Female
- Personal history of fracture after age 40
- Family history of fracture in first-degree relative
- Current cigarette smoking
- Low body weight, < 127 lbs., regardless of
height
Next important factors:
- Poor health/frailty (such as inability to rise
from a chair without using arms or self-rated fair or poor health)
- Female: Early menopause (before age 45);
prolonged premenopausal amenorrhea
(more than 1 year)
- Men: Testosterone
deficiency
- Low calcium intake (lifelong) and low
sunlight exposure
- Alcoholism (more
than 27 drinks a week)
- Impaired eyesight despite correction
- Recurrent falls
- Inadequate physical activity (such as spending
less than 4 hours a day on feet and not walking for exercise)
- Use of certain
medications, such as corticosteroids, anticonvulsants, excessive
thyroid hormone, and antiacids that contain aluminum
- Dementia
One minute self assessment
of risk factors
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