Identification of osteoporosis risk in postmenopausal women by the combined use of ultrasounds and clinical factors

Objective: Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) is considered the gold standard for osteoporosis diagnosis and identification of postmeno- pausal women at high risk for osteoporotic fractures. However DEXA supposes the use of expensive and not easily available instruments. The aim of this study was to verify the possibility of identifying osteoporotic patients by the association of clinical-anamnestic algorithms with ultrasonographical bone evaluation, using portable, noninvasive, and less expensive instrument.
Design: Two hundred twenty-four postmenopausal women (57.96.2 years old) were recruited at the Menopause Clinic in Brescia and Pisa.