A Difference of Bone Fracture Rate and Frequency to Have Determined in Diagnosis Standards

Abstract

Objectives: We evaluated the frequency of osteoporosis diagnosed in Bucheon postmenopausal women who attended our hospital using the World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic criteria and the 2007 International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) official positions. And we evaluated a difference of bone fracture rate to have determined in diagnosis standards. Material & Methods: From the database maintained in our department, we evaluated approximately 250 postmenopausal women, 45～69 years of age (mean, 56.9 years), between January 2005 and December 2007. We divided the women into 5 groups by age, and each group included 50 postmenopausal women. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Results: When the WHO threshold for postmenopausal women was applied, the frequency of osteoporosis diagnosed was 22.8% at the lumbar spine, 30.4% at the femoral neck, and 38% in at least one of the evaluated sites. When the ISCD criteria were applied, the frequency of osteoporosis diagnosed was 14%, 2.8%, and 14.8%, respectively. The fracture rate of osteoporosis diagnosed using ISCD criteria and WHO thresholds were 4 patients (1.6%, P-value=0.021), 9 patients (3.6%, P-value=0.057) each. Conclusion: The frequency of osteoporosis diagnosed in postmenopausal women using the WHO criteria is much lower than the 2007 ISCD official positions. The WHO criteria are more liberal than the ISCD official positions. We anticipate new criteria that will unify these two methods of diagnosis.