When you come to a woman’s wellness center, you may think the focus is on your reproductive system. But women’s wellness extends far beyond reproductive organs. To stay healthy for life, you need strong bones and muscles.
Among women and men over 50 in 2017-2018, the age-adjusted prevalence of osteoporosis at either the femur neck (i.e., top of thigh bone) or lumbar spine (i.e., backbone) was 12.6%, and the prevalence of low bone mass in either of those sites was 43.1%. From 2007–2008 through 2017–2018, the prevalence of osteoporosis in women increased from 14.0% to 19.6%.
A dual-energy-X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan — also known as a bone density test — gives your doctor insights into how strong and dense your bones are — or aren’t. From age 25 onward, your bones lose minerals and density because new bone cells eventually can’t keep pace with the death of old ones.
At Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville, our knowledgeable OB/GYNs, Daniel McDyer, MD, FACOG, and Julian Stephen Suhrer, MD, recommend regular DEXA scans so you know what’s going on inside your bones and what to do to keep them strong. At our Jacksonville, Florida, offices, we also help you develop bone-healthy strategies.
Are you due for a bone density test? Find out here.
The best time to get your first DEXA scan varies by age and circumstance. The National Osteoporosis Foundation’s recommendation for women or those who were assigned female at birth are to get a bone density test if you:
Risk factors that trigger your need for a bone density test include medical conditions that cause bone loss, such as autoimmune disorders. Certain medications may also increase your risk of fractures.
The DEXA scan provides two scores: a T-score and a Z-score. Your T-score compares your bones to healthy, young bones to determine your youthful bone mass and mineralization or if you’ve lost mass and density. Your Z-score compares your bones to other people of your age, sex, and ethnicity.
You can have normal density in some bones, low mass in others, and osteoporosis in others. Any suggestion of lower-than-normal bone mass or osteoporosis means that you need to preserve your bones.
We may recommend supplements, lifestyle adjustments, and medications to help strengthen your bones and muscles that support them. If your Z-score is abnormally low, we may order tests to determine if you have an underlying condition that affects your bones.
No matter what the results of your DEXA scan, you should get another one in about two years. If your DEXA was normal two years ago, the current one may show some bone loss. If you had osteopenia or osteoporosis, your scores may have worsened.
Or, if you’ve made significant lifestyle changes or taken medications to improve bone density, your scores may improve. In most cases, insurance covers the cost of bone density scans every two years.
According to recent evidence, healthy women 67 and older with normal bone mass may not need another DEXA for up to 10 years. However, if your risk factors change during that time, we recommend a follow-up.
If you have osteopenia or osteoporosis, you may want to get a DEXA scan annually to monitor the progress of any supplements, lifestyle changes, or medications you’ve adopted to halt the bone loss. Unfortunately, the changes in bone density over short intervals are usually less than the measurement error of most bone density scanners.
Therefore, frequent testing of more than every two years is unnecessary and may be misleading. However, your doctor might recommend an “extra” DEXA if you’re at high risk for fracture and are taking osteoporosis medications.
Is it time for your first or next bone density scan? Contact our helpful team in Jacksonville, Florida, today by phone or use the convenient appointment form online to book your DEXA.
