Standardising the descriptive epidemiology of osteoporosis: recommendations from the Epidemiology and Quality of Life Working Group of IOF

The Committee of Scientific Advisors of International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) recommends that papers describing the descriptive epidemiology of osteoporosis using bone mineral density (BMD) at the femoral neck include T-scores derived from an international reference standard.IntroductionThe prevalence of osteoporosis as defined by the T-score is inconsistently reported in the literature which makes comparisons between studies problematic.MethodsThe Epidemiology and Quality of Life Working Group of IOF convened to make its recommendations and endorsement sought thereafter from the Committee of Scientific Advisors of IOF.ResultsThe Committee of Scientific Advisors of IOF recommends that papers describing the descriptive epidemiology of osteoporosis using BMD at the femoral neck include T-scores derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III reference database for femoral neck measurements in Caucasian women aged 20–29 years.ConclusionsIt is expected that the use of the reference standard will help resolve difficulties in the comparison of results between studies and the comparative assessment of new technologies.