Factors associated with treatment initiation after osteoporosis screening

The prevalence of osteoporosis and factors associated with treatment initiation after detection of osteoporosis were determined for previously unscreened, postmenopausal women. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry screening was conducted in 1997-2000 as part of an ancillary study of the Buffalo, New York, center of the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study. A total of 945 women were previously unaware of their bone density, although, for 344 (36.4%), osteoporosis was newly detected through screening (T-score /=$50,000 (OR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.03, 4.14), and discussing screening results with a gynecologist (OR = 3.20, 95% CI: 1.33, 7.67). These findings suggest that many postmenopausal women are unaware of their bone density and could benefit from screening. In this study, approximately half of the women with osteoporosis initiated treatment after screening. Disease severity, medical care frequency, education, income, and physician type predicted treatment initiation.