Common Questions
What do primary and secondary prevention mean in osteoporosis?
In general, the term "primary prevention" means prevention of an osteoporosis-related fracture.
"Secondary prevention" means treatment after an osteoporosis-related fracture, to prevent a second fracture.
The WHO definition of primary prevention in osteoporosis focuses on bone mineral density, rather than on fracture. According to the WHO definition, "prevention of osteoporosis" means preventing the BMD from dropping to less than 2.5 SD below the young-normal mean.
- World Health Organization. Assessment of fracture risk and its application to screening for postmenopausal osteoporosis: Report of a WHO Study Group. (Technical report series 843.). Geneva Switzerland: World Health Organization 1994.