Task force issues draft osteoporosis screening recommendations, calls for public comment

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released draft recommendations on osteoporosis screening last week and invited public comment before finalization.

In 2002, the USPSTF recommended bone density screening for women 65 years or older and women age 60 to 64 years at increased risk for osteoporotic fractures. At the time, the Task Force made no recommendations for or against screening men or women in other patient populations. The updated draft recommendations call for screening in women ages 65 years and older and in younger women whose fracture risk is equal to or greater than that of a 65-year-old woman with no additional risk factors. However, the Task Force concluded that current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for osteoporosis in men.

In the accompanying background review, which was published early online July 6 by Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers reviewed studies published between 2001 and 2009 to determine:

• the effectiveness and harms of osteoporosis screening in reducing fractures for men and postmenopausal women without known previous fractures,the performance of risk assessment instruments and bone measurement tests in identifying osteoporosis,optimal screening intervals, andthe efficacy and harms of medications to reduce primary fractures.

The researchers found that although methods to identify risk for osteoporotic fractures are available and medications to reduce fractures are effective, no trials directly evaluate screening effectiveness, harms and intervals.

The draft recommendation statement will be available for comment on the USPSTF website until August 3. The USPSTF will consider posted comments when finalizing the recommendations.