Heel ultrasound predicts osteoporosis risk

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (UPI) -- An ultrasound exam of the heel may be able to predict if a woman is at heightened risk for fractures due to osteoporosis, Swiss researchers said.

Lead author Dr. Idris Guessous of the Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland said along with certain risk factors -- including age or recent fall -- radiation-free ultrasound of the heel may be used to better select women who need further bone density testing, such as a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry exam.

In the three-year, multi-center study, 6,174 women ages 70 to 85 with no previous formal diagnosis of osteoporosis were screened with heel-bone quantitative ultrasound, a diagnostic test used to assess bone density. Researchers asked about risk factors such as age, history of fractures or a recent fall.

The study, published in the the journal Radiology, showed that 1,464 women, or 23.7 percent, were considered lower risk and 4,710, or 76.3 percent, were considered higher risk.

In the group of higher risk women, 290, or 6.1 percent, developed fractures, whereas 27, or 1.8 percent, of the women in the lower risk group developed fractures. Among the 66 women who developed a hip fracture, 60, or 90 percent, were in the higher risk group.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com