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Based on that, the researchers concluded that women with a healthy initial test could wait as long as 15 years before getting a second screening. But women deemed at moderate risk should get tested about every five years. And women at high risk should get tested more often, perhaps even annually.
The research, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, was led by Dr. Margaret Gourlay of the University of North Carolina. She worries that her findings might be misinterpreted and cause some women to wait longer than they should for their next test. She cited earlier research suggesting not enough women get the recommended initial scan.
The 15-year interval applies only to postmenopausal women judged to be at low risk for osteoporosis from the first screening, she noted, and perhaps fewer than half of U.S. women over 65 fall into that category.
But she said even for those women, other risk factors have to be considered: smoking, slim build, prior broken bones and taking medication that has an eroding effect on bones.
She also noted that osteoporosis becomes a greater risk in the oldest patients, so a woman with a moderate risk who is 85 or older might be better off getting tested every three years instead of every five.
___
Online:
New England Journal: http://www.nejm.org/
Osteoporosis information:
http://www.bones.nih.gov/
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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