Featured Publication
August 12, 2020
For women aged 65 and older, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends a bone mineral density, or BMD, measurement to screen for osteoporosis. For younger women, a BMD measurement is recommended for those at higher risk for osteoporosis. There are however no recommendations about the frequency of BMD testing owing to lack of research.
To address this, a team of WHI investigators led by Carolyn Crandall examined the added contribution of repeating a BMD test 3-years after a baseline BMD measurement was collected. In their analysis of nearly 7,500 WHI participants, they found that a follow-up BMD measurement did not improve fracture risk discrimination beyond the baseline BMD assessment. Recognizing that BMD scans uses resources, they concluded that follow-up BMD testing should not be routinely performed in postmenopausal women.
Dr. Crandall’s manuscript was published in JAMA Internal Medicine in July 2020.