NEW YORK — Routine screening for osteoporosis should include all younger postmenopausal women who have at least the same chance of a bone break as an older woman, a government task force said Monday.
Also, for the first time, the group weighed whether men should be checked for the bone-thinning disease, but it decided there wasn’t enough evidence to recommend for or against the screening.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s draft guidelines widen its 2002 advice, when it said all women older than 65, plus those 60 to 64 at higher risk for fractures, should get a bone-density test.
The task force now says all younger postmenopausal women should get checked if their risk of a broken bone is the same or greater than the average 65-year-old woman. Factors that can increase risk include low weight, certain drugs, smoking, heavy alcohol use and a parent who broke a hip.
In a break from previous practice, the independent, government-appointed panel posted a draft of the guidelines online Monday to allow for public comment. The reaction to controversial mammogram guidelines last fall spurred the group to open the process earlier, said Dr. Ned Calonge, head of the panel. Calonge also is chief medical officer of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
