Comparison of Osteoporosis Self Assessment Tool for Asian (OSTA) and Standard Assessment in Menopause Clinic, Chiang Mai
Somsak Chaovisitsaree MD*, Siri A-nong Namwongprom MD**, Nuntana Morakote BSc, MPH*, Nuchanart Suntornlimsiri BSc*, Wirawit Piyamongkol MD, PhD*
Affiliation : * Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai ** Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai
Objective : To compare osteoporosis self assessment tool for Asian (OSTA) with the standard measurement of
bone mineral density (BMD) by dual energy x-rays absorptiometry (DXA) in identifying the prevalence of
osteopenia and osteoporosis in Thai menopausal women who attended the Menopause Clinic, Faculty of
Medicine, Chiang Mai University.
Materials and Methods : The data was retrospectively collected from the medical records of women who had
lumbar, femoral neck and radius BMD t-score measurement by DXA (Hologic®, QDR-4500C) between January
2004 and December 2005. The body weight and age of patients were calculated for the OSTA index score. The
women with OSTA score < -1 and > -1 were classified as “moderate to high risk” and “low risk” for fracture,
respectively. The BMD T-scores of < -1 and > -1 were classified as “osteopenia to osteoporosis” and “normal”
respectively.
Results : Three hundred and fifteen menopausal women of the age of 45-87 years were included. The BMD T-
scores assessment revealed that more than half of the subjects had osteopenia to osteoporosis (T-score < -1),
196 women (62%) at lumbar spine, 133 women (42.2%) at femur and a third, 114 women (36.2%) at radius
respectively. The OSTA index at the standard cut-point of < -1 had a sensitivity and specificity of 36.2% and
71.4% respectively for the lumbar spine and 40.6% and 72.0% respectively for the neck of the femur in
predicting osteopenia to osteoporosis status.
Conclusion : The OSTA index score had a low sensitivity (36-48%) but a high specificity (71-75%) for identi-
fying osteopenic to osteoporotic women among population of menopausal period. Nevertheless, it is a useful
screening tool in old age women (> 65 years).
Keywords : Menopause, OSTA screening, BMD osteoporosis
