When to Treat Bone Mineral Density
Osteopenia sounds serious -- but is it? Technically, osteopenia is not in and of itself a disease, as osteoporosis is. Instead, osteopenia is an indication that your bone mineral density is below the statistical norm and that you could eventually develop osteoporosis or be at risk of a future fracture.
On one hand, treating osteopenia sounds logical. Osteoporosis doesn’t develop overnight, out of the blue; surely, a person with the disease was osteopenic at some point along the line. However, just because you have osteopenia doesn’t mean that you’re absolutely guaranteed to develop osteoporosis, nor are you fated to have a serious fracture. Thus, taking bisphosphonates or other bone-building medications for your osteopenia means that you might be treated for a condition you never would have developed even if left untreated. As a result, many experts argue that most people with osteopenia don’t need treatment, that blanket prescribing of bone-building drugs for osteopenia is more about alleviating anxiety than actually preventing fractures -- and that such a strategy makes no sense when drug costs and potential side effects are taken into account. Instead, the general consensus is in favor of selective, targeted treatment for osteopenia.