Osteoporosis Screenings Done too Frequently in U.S.?

July 6, 2010— -- Screening for osteoporosis, if used as frequently as current guidelines suggest, may be doing more harm than good, an influential task force said.

The bone disease can be disabling to elderly people, and even threaten their lives after a hip fracture. As many as half of all Americans aged 50 or over will be at risk for osteoporotic fractures during their lifetimes, according to a 2004 Surgeon General's report.

Medications can help and doctors are continually looking for ways to detect the disease earlier.

But when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) reviewed 33 studies on osteoporosis screenings, it said it could not find enough evidence to show whether the current screening guidelines are more helpful than hurtful.

The USPSTF reported Monday that more studies are needed to show if men and postmenopausal women who have no history of fractures should be screened for osteoporosis. In the meantime, the panel now recommends screening all women whose 10-year fracture risk is equal to or greater than that of a 65-year-old woman who has no additional risk factors.

"The message to consumers may be that it's okay not to get every test every time every year, but it is important to take the test at the right recommended time," said Dr. Heidi Nelson, lead author of the review and a researcher at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Ore.

Nelson said the task force had tried to find more information on men and osteoporosis screening, but "we're still quite limited in that area."

According to the Mayo Clinic, fractures from osteoporosis are almost twice as common in women as they are in men.

Last November, USPSTF sparked a debate about screening when it recommended against routine mammograms for women in their 40s who aren't at increased risk for breast cancer.