Osteopenia

          Densitometry results are given as T-scores, which values would be considered as osteopenia?
Osteopenia may be due to age or other risk factors such as genetics, lifestyle choices, endocrine disorders or certain medications. While it does not necessarily lead to fractures like osteoporosis can if left untreated, it increases the risk for fractures later in life and should still be managed with preventative interventions such as lifestyle changes and medications like bisphosphonates that decrease bone turnover rate and increase bone quality over time. Given this information, any densitometry result resulting in a T-score between -1 and -2.5 would be considered indicative of osteopenia according to WHO diagnostic criteria for BMD measurements in adults aged 50 years and above; any values below -1 would suggest normal BMD whereas those higher than -2..5 might suggest increased risk for fracture due to decreasing bone mineralization associated with age or other medical conditions/medications used by individuals at high risk for developing osteoporosis down the road if intervention measures are not taken soon enough.

Sample Solution

Osteopenia is a condition in which bone mineral density (BMD) is lower than normal, but not low enough to be classified as osteoporosis. It is diagnosed with the help of densitometry results and expressed as T-scores. A T-score compares an individual's BMD to that of a healthy young adult of the same sex, with a score of 0 representing the average peak value. A T-score between -1 and -2.5 indicates osteopenia, while scores lower than -2.5 indicate osteoporosis.