In a new study from the NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine), women over 65 with normal bones on DEXA (bone mineral scanning), or those with only mild bone loss, can take up to 15 years to get their 2nd bone scan.
Great news!
We have been doing scanning at 2 year intervals and although the radiation involved is very minimal, it is a costly procedure. Doing it less often will not miss many women at risk of developing osteoporosis.
I’ve been increasing the interval between bone scans for such woman, but now it’s good to have data to support that. That said, not sure we will wait 15 years…but rather 5-10 to do our second scan.
As always, it’s important to discuss this directly with the doctor, to understand the pro’s and con’s of monitoring, but it’s nice to get such reassuring information on woman at ‘low risk’.