Osteoporosis Assessment and Management in the PALTC Environment

Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease experienced by older adults. By definition it is a systemic skeletal disorder that results in decreased bone strength, density, and quality. According to the World Health Organization, osteoporosis is defined as a bone mineral density measurement of ≤2.5 standard deviations below that of a normal adult (or a T-score that is ≤2.5) (Prevention and Management of Osteoporosis [WHO, 2003], https://bit.ly/4ds2G26). Osteopenia, which is the thinning of the bones before developing osteoporosis, is considered to be present when the bone mineral density is between −1.0 and −2.5.