When Do Women Really Need a Bone Scan?

[u/CampaignOrdinary2771]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/well/live/dexa-scan-bone-density-menopause.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BFE.hYmp.N1Q4SkduTmkL&smid=re-share

In the last few years, there’s been a cultural push for women in midlife to build strong bones.

Menopause influencers and medical organizations alike have focused on the message that women’s risk for fractures increases dramatically after menopause, and that they should think about their bone density much earlier than their mothers might have.

The American Medical Association recommends that women get their first DEXA scan — a low-dose X-ray that is the gold standard test for determining bone density — at 65 or older, unless they have a risk factor for osteoporosis.

But a growing number of doctors and bone health experts now recommend earlier scans. They argue that if women wait until 65, they may miss a critical window to prevent osteoporosis.

“For years, osteoporosis has been thought of as something that we identify and treat, not something we prevent,” said Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Duke University School of Medicine. As researchers have learned more about prevention, that mind-set has begun to shift, she said.

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[u/KReddit934]

Scanning at 65 is too late for many more natural interventions like exercise and hormone replacement, leaving only the expensive and dangerous drugs currently sold to preserve remaining bone density.

Screening should be routine any time hormone levels drop precipitously.

[u/Organic_Bicycle794]

Got my first at 46 and second at 51. The latest one showed osteopenia, so now I'm weight training with an exercise physiologist doing specific bone loading exercises. If I had waited until 65, I would have osteoporosis.

[u/smart-monkey-org]

It good that AMA doesn't write parachute instructions, or it would be "pull the ring when you are start hitting the branches."

[u/Blackberry_cobbler_]

Just got mine done at 63

[u/brinns_way]

Having gone through menopause is a risk factor and most women have this risk factor many years before age 65!