Osteoporosis Risk Calculators

Osteoporosis is a silent disease until fractures occur, patient recognition is the greatest clinical challenge. Although more than 20 million women in the US are estimated to have established osteoporosis the majority are not appropriately identified. Bone densitometry is the current gold standard for diagnosis of osteoporosis; but may not be feasible or cost-effective to recommend for all postmenopausal women. Therefore, questionnaires incorporating risk factors have been developed to aid the clinician in identifying women with osteoporosis. We will review Qfracture, CAnadian Risk for Osteoporosis Calculator (CAROC), the Simple Calculated Osteoporosis Risk Index (SCORE), the Osteoporosis Risk Assessment Index (ORAI), the Osteoporotic Self-assessment Tool (OST), ABONE, and the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendations.