Why Midlife Women Need a DXA Scan - #69

If you’re a midlife woman, then your bone health should be at the top of your list to check. As we age and transition from peri-menopause, to menopause, to post-menopause, our bone health is at risk, for some more than others.

Here’s a stat from the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation:

Of the estimated 10 million Americans with osteoporosis, about eight million or 80% are women. Approximately one in two women over age 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis. A woman's risk of breaking a hip is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer.

Our healthcare system isn’t about preventive medicine but waiting until the fire is burning to come in for the rescue. Perimenopause can start for women in their 30’s, the average age of menopause is 51. There’s a possible 15-20 years that your bone health could be declining, in conjunction with declining and fluctuating hormones, let alone years of a sub-optimal lifestyle and diet choices.

One of the tests I recommend for all my midlife women clients to take is a DEXA scan, which is the gold standard for assessing your bone mineral density, and risk of osteoporosis. Unfortunately, most health insurance companies will not pay for this test as a preventive measure until you are 65 years old, 70 for men unless you have prior risk factors. You will want to be working with a doctor, practitioner, or health coach who is trained to properly read the results and help you navigate any bone health issues that you may have with lifestyle/diet, supplements, and possibly medications. You do not need a doctor’s prescription to go ahead and get a DXA scan, but if you want to try and have your health insurance cover it, then you do.

Dr. Kristi DeSapri is back for a second time to go over what a DXA scan is, how it works, how to read the report, and then what the next steps are to take if needed. We will use my very recent DXA as an example. Dr. Kristi DeSapri is a board-certified internist specializing in midlife women’s health. After fellowship training at the Cleveland Clinic, she has worked in private practice and academic medicine for over 13 years, including as the director of the Northwestern Women’s Bone Health program at the Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. She is currently opening Bone and Body Women’s Health, a concierge midlife women’s health practice in the Chicago area, focused on consultation and management of perimenopause, menopause, osteoporosis, and sexual health.

Medical Disclaimer: By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use this podcast as medical advice or for making any lifestyle changes to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. Consult your physician for any medical issues that you may be having. This entire disclaimer also applies to any of my guests on my podcast.

Resources:

Website: www.boneandbodywh.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/boneandbodywh/

Calcium Calculator: https://www.osteoporosis.foundation/educational-hub/topic/calcium-calculator

Fracture Risk Assessment Tool: https://frax.shef.ac.uk/FRAX/tool.aspx?country=9

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