[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/osteopenia\/3-things-to-remember-about-an-osteopenia-diagnosis\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/osteopenia\/3-things-to-remember-about-an-osteopenia-diagnosis\/","headline":"3 things to remember about an osteopenia diagnosis","name":"3 things to remember about an osteopenia diagnosis","description":"Print PDF eBook Facebook Twitter Gmail LinkedIn Pinterest I know that it can be scary to be told you have osteopenia or are well on your way. I talk with women worried about this every day. Unfortunately, with over half of all U.S. adults over 50 estimated to have osteoporosis or osteopenia, concern about bone […]","datePublished":"2017-06-15","dateModified":"2026-04-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/#Person","name":"Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/","identifier":72,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Center for Better Bones","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","width":150,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image.jpeg","height":1109,"width":2120},"url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/osteopenia\/3-things-to-remember-about-an-osteopenia-diagnosis\/","about":["Osteopenia"],"wordCount":425,"keywords":["osteopenia","osteopenia medication"],"articleBody":" Print PDF eBook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFacebook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTwitter\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGmail\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLinkedIn\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPinterest\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tI know that it can be scary to be told you have osteopenia or are well on your way. I talk with women worried about this every day. Unfortunately, with over half of all U.S. adults over 50 estimated to have osteoporosis or osteopenia, concern about bone loss is becoming the norm rather than the exception.Here are 3 things to know if you\u2019ve been told you have osteopenia \u2013 and the first is don\u2019t panic!You don\u2019t need to panic \u2014 you\u2019re not sick. There\u2019s a lot of confusing information out there about \u201costeopenia\u201d and what it means. From the very start, the term wasn\u2019t meant to indicate disorder, much less a disease needing treatment.Osteopenia is really just a statement of where you stand, statistically, on a spectrum of bone thicknesses. A person with \u201costeopenia\u201d has a bone density more than -1 standard deviation but less than -2.5 standard deviations from the bone density of young women (considered the ideal). With this definition, even 16% of healthy young women would be told they have osteopenia or even osteoporosis\u2014when there\u2019s absolutely nothing wrong with them.You probably don\u2019t need medication. There\u2019s growing, thoughtful medical consensus that bone drugs are largely ineffective and unnecessary for preventing fractures in those with osteopenia (Alonso-Coello et al., 2008), and universal recommendations for preventing osteoporotic fractures focus on lifestyle factors ahead of drugs (Cosman et al., 2014).You probably don\u2019t have a significantly greater chance of a bone fracture. Bone density alone does not determine fracture risk. In fact, more than two-thirds of all osteoporotic fractures occur in people who have denser bones than would typically be called \u201costeoporotic\u201d by bone scans. I suggest you take my simple bone health profile to better understand your potential risk of fracture.You can learn more about steps to reduce your risks with my recent blog \u201cOsteopenia? 5 steps for stronger bones.\u201dReferences:Alonso-Coello P, et al., Drugs for pre-osteoporosis: prevention or disease mongering? BMJ 2008;336:126. doi: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmj.39435.656250.AD\u00a0(Published 17 January 2008) Cosman F, de Beur SJ, LeBoff MS, et al. Clinician\u2019s guide to the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Osteoporos Int. 2014; 25(10): 2359\u20132381.Looker AC, Sarafrazi Isfahani N, Fan B., Shepherd JA. Prevalence and trends in low femur bone density among older U.S. adults: NHANES 2005-2006 compared with NHANES 111. \u00a0J Bone Miner Res. 2010 Jan 25 (1):64-71.Learn more about natural strategies in our guide to our natural approach to osteoporosis.Read our complete guide to bone density testing explained."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Osteopenia","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/osteopenia\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"3 things to remember about an osteopenia diagnosis","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/osteopenia\/3-things-to-remember-about-an-osteopenia-diagnosis\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]