Risk, significance and biomedicalisation of a new population: Older women's experience of osteoporosis screening

► We explore the illness experience of being at risk of osteoporosis fracture. ► A significant illness experience is associated with fracture risk diagnosis. ► Participants do not always biographically anticipate the risk-of-illness experience. ► Screening for fracture risk can be viewed as an emergent form of predictive medicine. ► Fracture risk screening contributes to biomedicalisation of ageing and bone health.