1 or higher, your bone is healthy. –1 to –2.5, you have
Stage 4. Stage 4 is the most severe stage of osteoporosis. The risk of bone fracture is higher, and the individual may also start having symptoms. Severe bone loss can lead to noticeable changes in a person's spine, such as height loss or stooped posture.
For postmenopausal women and men age 50 years and older, the T-score is the number that is used for diagnostic classification, as follows: A T-score of -1.0 or above is normal bone density. Examples are 0.9, 0 and -0.9. A T-score between -1.0 and -2.5 means you have low bone mass or osteopenia.
Osteoporosis — People with osteoporosis have a T-score of -2.5 or less. Larger numbers (eg, -3.0) indicate lower bone density because this is a negative number. The lower the bone density, the greater the risk of fracture.
Stage 4, or severe, osteoporosis is associated with significant pain, impaired mobility, and stooped posture. A person has stage 4 osteoporosis if their bone mineral density score is more than 2.5 standard deviations below the healthy average for a young adult and they have had at least one fracture.
If your T-score is between –1 and –2.5: you have low bone density, known as osteopenia, but not osteoporosis. If your T-score is –2.5 or less: you have osteoporosis, even if you haven't yet broken a bone. To learn more, buy the Harvard Special Health Report Osteoporosis: A guide to prevention and treatment .
Currently, screening for osteoporosis is recommended for women who are 65 years old or older and for women who are 50 to 64 and have certain risk factors, which include having a parent who has broken a hip.
At some point, usually around age 35, women start to lose bone. While some bone is lost each year, the rate of bone loss increases dramatically in the 5 to 10 years after menopause. Then, for several years, the breakdown of bone occurs at a much greater pace than the building of new bone.
If your T-score is: 1 or higher, your bone is healthy. –1 to –2.5, you have osteopenia, a less severe form of low bone mineral density than osteoporosis. –2.5 or lower, you might have osteoporosis.
It's not clear why people with osteoporosis may experience fatigue, but it could be because your body is lacking in vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency can contribute to both poor bone health and make you feel tired. Another connection may be between certain medications taken for osteoporosis.
Stage three is when you're considered to have osteoporosis. In this stage, your bone loss far exceeds your bone growth, putting you at a higher risk for fractures. Unless you experience a fracture, you likely won't have any other symptoms in this stage, except for a bone density of -2.5 or lower if you're tested.
Symptoms of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is called a “silent” disease” because there are typically no symptoms until a bone is broken. Symptoms of vertebral (spine) fracture include severe back pain, loss of height, or spine malformations such as a stooped or hunched posture (kyphosis).
Many people can live well with osteoporosis and avoid breaking bones in the first place. But if you have had fractures, it's important to learn about the steps you can take to maintain a good quality of life.
The average life expectancy of osteoporosis patients is in excess of 15 years in women younger than 75 years and in men younger than 60 years, highlighting the importance of developing tools for long-term management.
In addition to managing your osteoporosis, it's important to avoid activities that may cause a fracture. Such activities include movements that involve twisting your spine, like swinging a golf club, or bending forward from the waist, like sit ups and toe touches.
Osteoporosis is a disease that causes weak, thinning bones. This leaves the bones at greater risk of breaking. The bones most often affected are the hips, spine, and wrists. Women are 4 times more likely to get osteoporosis than men because of a decrease in estrogen after menopause.
A 70 means that you are approximately the 98th percentile – so that it is actually quite high though students who are used to receiving 90s will feel like it is low! Since there is a 1-to-1 mapping of T Score to the other rows, you can see that it does not actually provide any new information.
What to know about reversing osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is not reversible, but medication, a nutrient-dense diet, and weight bearing exercise can help prevent further bone loss and rebuild bones. Osteoporosis weaken bones so that they are more likely to break.
A negative T-score of –2.5 or less at the femoral neck defines osteoporosis. The Z-score is a comparison with the bone density of people of the same age and sex as the patient. A negative Z-score of –2.5 or less should raise suspicion of a secondary cause of osteoporosis.
Bone fractures, particularly in the spine or hip, are the most serious complications of osteoporosis. Hip fractures often are caused by a fall and can result in disability and even an increased risk of death within the first year after the injury. In some cases, spinal fractures can occur even if you haven't fallen.
Osteoporosis is a major public health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans, or for more than half of those 50 or older. In New York State alone, more than 3 million men and women have osteoporosis or low bone mass.
Osteoporosis is often referred to as a 'silent condition' and often a fracture is the first symptom that leads to investigation and diagnosis of the condition. Pain is not a symptom of osteoporosis in the absence of fractures.