Identifying postmenopausal patients at risk of significant bone loss.

Bone loss is a major cause of morbidity in elderly women; however, recent evidence suggests that osteoporosis need not be the inevitable consequence of aging. Family physicians must therefore identify women at risk of osteopenia and initiate treatment aimed at preventing or delaying further reduction in bone mass. To identify patients at risk of osteopenia, radiographic measurements of the radius and second metacarpal were made in 77 postmenopausal women attending a family medical centre; 34 patients were Indian and 43 were Caucasian. Using either the measurement of the radius or the second metacarpal, 75% of the Indian women and 50% of the Caucasian women had demonstrable bone loss. X-ray of either the second metacarpal or radial head can be useful in identifying females with significant reduction in bone mass.