Skip to main content

Osteoporosis Screening Rates Low for Asian American Medicare Beneficiaries

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on May 1, 2024.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 1, 2024 -- Rates of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) screening for osteoporosis are lower than expected for Asian American Medicare beneficiaries, according to a study published online March 9 in Skeletal Radiology.

Soterios Gyftopoulos, M.D., from New York University Langone Health in New York City, and colleagues assessed osteoporosis screening utilization rates among Asian American populations. The analysis included 80,439 Medicare beneficiaries.

The researchers found that 15.1 percent received osteoporosis screening. For women, the DXA rate was approximately four times greater than the rate for men (19.8 versus 5.0 percent). For Asian American beneficiaries living in ZIP codes with higher mean household income, DXA was significantly more common than for those in lower-income areas (17.6 versus 14.3 percent). DXA was significantly more common among beneficiaries aged younger than 80 years (15.5 percent) versus those aged 80 years and older (14.1 percent). Asian American beneficiaries had significantly lower DXA rates compared with other races and ethnicities, when controlling for years of Medicare eligibility, age, sex, location, and mean income.

"We found lower than expected DXA screening rates for Asian American patients," the authors write. "A better understanding of the barriers and facilitators to Asian American osteoporosis screening is needed to improve patient care."

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted May 2024

Read this next

Mortality in Rheumatic Heart Disease Is High

FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- Mortality related to rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is high and is correlated with the severity of valve disease, according to a study published online June...

Higher County-Level Prostate Cancer Screening Tied to Better Outcomes

FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- Higher county-level prevalence of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening is associated with lower odds of advanced disease, all-cause mortality, and...

Metabolic Impact on Offspring Similar for Frozen, Fresh Embryo Transfer

FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- For glucose and lipid profiles during early childhood, the impact of frozen embryo transfer (FET) is comparable to that of fresh embryo transfer, according...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.