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When your bone density is tested, your healthcare provider will get a numerical score that tells them if you already have osteoporosis or are at risk for developing it. One of the numbers is called a T-score, which tells whether your bone density is low enough to be considered osteoporosis.
Your T-score is your bone density compared with what is normally expected in a healthy young adult of your sex. Your T-score is the number of units — called standard deviations — that your bone density is above or below the average.
• If your T-score is –1 or greater: your bone density is considered normal. • If your T-score is between –1 and –2.5: you have low bone density, known as osteopenia, but not osteoporosis. • If your T-score is –2.5 or less: you have osteoporosis, even if you haven't yet broken a bone.
For postmenopausal women and men age 50 years and older, the T-score is the number that is used for diagnostic classification, as follows: A T-score of -1.0 or above is normal bone density. Examples are 0.9, 0 and -0.9. A T-score between -1.0 and -2.5 means you have low bone mass or osteopenia.
T-Score Bone Density Chart: A T-score of -1.0 to -2.5 signifies osteopenia, meaning below-normal bone density without full-blown osteoporosis. This stage of bone loss is the precursor to osteoporosis.
If your T-score is: –1 or higher, your bone is healthy. –1 to –2.5, you have osteopenia, a less severe form of low bone mineral density than osteoporosis. –2.5 or lower, you might have osteoporosis. The risk of broken bones increases by 1.5 to 2 times with each 1-point drop in the T-score.
T-scores compare your bone density with that of a young adult, while z-scores compare your bone density with that of your peer group.