Osteoporosis results from a gradual loss of bone density throughout the skeleton. While this occurs in both men and women as they age, the sudden loss of estrogen (which normally encourages bone formation) at the time of menopause means that women over age 50 suffer far more complications from their osteoporosis than men of the same age. A bone mineral density test called a DEXA scan is currently the most reliable method for determining your risk of a fracture due to osteoporosis. Since most women (particularly those younger than 65) who undergo a DEXA scan do not turn out to have osteoporosis, a number of tools have been developed to predict who is most likely to have a positive scan and who is not.

Here we provide one such tool based on the Simple Calculated Osteoporosis Risk Estimation (SCORE) method for women. While it does not include all risk factors for osteoporosis, it does include those can be mathematically incorporated into an assessment tool. If you have osteoporosis, your score on this assessment is quite likely to be high. However, a high score does not necessarily mean you definitely have osteoporosis. It simply means you should talk to your physician about having your bone mineral density formally evaluated.