[Present situation of medical screening system for osteoporosis]

Medical screening system for osteoporosis is important method for detection of osteopenia or osteoporosis in the community. The medical screening for osteoporosis was done for female subjects at age 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70 year-old people according to the Health Promotion Act in Japan. The number of females received the screening was 287,782 in 2008, and the number corresponded to 4.7% of the estimated numbers of subjects for the screening in the population. Sixty six percentages of institutions measured bone mass and/or bone mineral density with the purpose other than that proposed by Health Promotion Act at 2009. Calcaneus bone mass was measured in 81% of institutions by quantitative ultrasound(QUS). Because QUS is inexpensive, involves no radiation exposure, and is easily portable, this method should be suitable for medical screening for osteoporosis and its prevalent use in Japan supports this assumption.