DEXA Bone Scan

[Raul_SJ]

Had a spine DEXA scan. My result was normal. "T-score" = +0.5
The "T score" reference is the average bone density of a 30 year old person...

Does that mean a T score of +1.0 is better than +0.5?

The DEXA scan is supposed to be the best test for detecting osteoporosis.
A few years ago, knee doctor told me my knee x-rays indicated pre-osteoperosis. Have to ask my Primary Doctor if I need
to DEXA scan the legs or whether I can assume the normal spine result means osteoperosis is not likely in the legs.

 

[ollinger]

The "T score" reference is the average bone density of a 30 year old person...[/QUOTE

30 year old?? DEXA scan not generally recommended for women under 65 or men under 70. Needless exposure to radiation that's known to increase cancer risk.

 

[Raul_SJ]

I was trying to understand my test results. Apparently, the "T-Score" is always referenced to the bone density of a 30 year old.
Did not know about radiation risk... My Primary Doctor got a new DEXA machine and I think was encouraging practically all middle-age patients to get scanned.

 

[ollinger]

Did not know about radiation risk

the scan is a type of X-ray study, and much is written in the medical literature about needless x-rays increasing cancer risk; some speculate that about 5 percent of all cancers are attributable to medical x-ray studies. Your doc may have some financial incentive to use his new toy, but guidelines on DEXA urge that it be reserved for those over 65 unless there is some compelling reason otherwise

 

[Raul_SJ]

the scan is a type of X-ray study, and much is written in the medical literature about needless x-rays increasing cancer risk; some speculate that about 5 percent of all cancers are attributable to medical x-ray studies. Your doc may have some financial incentive to use his new toy, but guidelines on DEXA urge that it be reserved for those over 65 unless there is some compelling reason otherwise

Apparently the radiation is 1/10 of a chest X-Ray.
Also, my insurance covered it and so I assumed it was a common diagnostic test. And it is considered the best test for detecting osteoperosis.

A Date With DEXA

Most bone scans use a technology called DEXA (for dual energy X-ray absorptiometry). In a DEXA scan, a person lies on a table while a technician aims a scanner mounted on a long arm. (Think of the machine that X-rays your teeth at the dentist; the difference is that this test uses very low energy radiation.)

"DEXA currently is the easiest, most standardized form of bone density testing, so that's what we use," says Mary Rhee, MD, MS, an endocrinologist and assistant professor of medicine at Emory University in Atlanta.

The DEXA scanner uses beams of very low-energy radiation to determine the density of the bone. The amount of radiation is tiny: about one-tenth of a chest X-ray. The test is painless, and considered completely safe. Pregnant women should not get DEXA scans because the developing baby shouldn’t be exposed to radiation, no matter how low the dose, if possible.

Measurements are usually taken at the hip, and sometimes the spine and other sites. Insurance or Medicare generally pays for the test in women considered at risk for osteoporosis, or those already diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia.

https://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/tests#1