Background: Osteoporosis is the most common skeletal disorder in the elderly, being characterized by impaired bone strength and increased risk of fracture. Severe osteoporosis is currently defined by the threshold of bone density value below the -2.5 SDS of T-score, determined by dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry, and the presence of one or more fragility fractures. This definition does not entirely reflect the spectrum of severity of the disease that provides a variable increase in fracture risk.
Methods: This manuscript reports a consensus statement on the diagnostic criteria for severe osteoporosis in real-life clinical setting, achieved in an event held by Italian physicians with expertise in osteoporosis and metabolic bone diseases.
Results: The group stated that a large number of fractures occur in subjects with T-score above -2.5. In light of recent advances on the structural basis of skeletal fragility, it became clear that bone density represents only one of the contributors to bone strength and number and severity of fragility fractures. The group suggests that the condition of two or more fragility fractures should be considered as severe osteoporosis, independently of bone density.
Conclusions: The consensus statement proposes a more specific definition of severe osteoporosis, which should consider not only densitometric measurements, but also the number and severity of fragility fractures. Patients' management and choice of treatment should take into consideration the type and severity of osteoporotic fractures, in addition to bone density.