ABSTRACT
Osteoporosis has become a common chronic disease which seriously endangers the health of the elderly. China is facing high incidence of osteoporosis along with " three low" rates of screening, diagnosis, and treatment, the crux of which lies in the lack of convenient and effective screening methods for osteoporosis. DXA, the gold standard for the diagnosis of osteoporosis, has many setbacks such as expensive, radiation, and low accessibility in community, etc. which limits its application in large scale screening. The community screening methods for osteoporosis recommended by national guidelines are IOF one-minute test, osteoporosis self-assessment tool for Asians(OSTA), fracture risk assessment tool(FRAX ?), and quantitative ultrasound(QUS). In recent years, digital X-ray radiogrammetry(DXR) and opportunistic quantitative computed tomography(QCT)have also shown great potential in osteoporosis screening. This article reviews the application and research progress of the above screening methods, with the aim of improving the screening rate and contributing to the tertiary prevention and control mechanism of " wide awareness, early diagnosis and early treatment" of osteoporosis.