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

Summary: 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. Introduction: The prevalence of osteoporosis as defined by the T-score is inconsistently reported in the literature which makes comparisons between studies problematic. Methods: The 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. Results: The 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. Conclusions: It 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]