Risk assessment instruments for screening bone mineral density in a Mediterranean population.

AIM: To evaluate the power of six osteoporosis-screening instruments in women in a Mediterranean country.

METHODS: Data concerning several osteoporosis risk factors were prospectively collected from 1000 postmenopausal women aged 42-87 years who underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) screening. Six osteoporosis risk factor screening tools were applied to this sample to evaluate their performance and choose the most appropriate tool for the study population.

RESULTS: The most important screening tool for osteoporosis status was the Simple Calculated Osteoporosis Risk Estimation, which had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.678, a sensitivity of 72%, and a specificity of 72%, with a cut-off point of 20.75. The most important screening tool for osteoporosis risk was the Osteoporosis Self-assessment Tool, which had an AUC of 0.643, a sensitivity of 77%, and a specificity of 46%, with a cut-off point of -2.9.

CONCLUSION: Some commonly used clinical risk instruments demonstrate high sensitivity for distinguishing individuals with DEXA-ascertained osteoporosis or reduced bone mineral density.