Misdiagnosis of Osteoporosis
Alternative diagnoses list for Osteoporosis:
For a diagnosis of Osteoporosis,
the following list of conditions
have been mentioned in sources
as possible alternative diagnoses
to consider during the diagnostic process for Osteoporosis:
Diseases for which Osteoporosis may be an alternative diagnosis
The other diseases for which Osteoporosis
is listed as a possible alternative
diagnosis in their lists include:
Osteoporosis: Hidden Causes Misdiagnosed?
Causes of Osteoporosis may include these medical conditions:
Rare Types of Osteoporosis:
Osteoporosis Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
Osteoporosis: Medical Mistakes
Related medical mistakes may include:
Osteoporosis: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Common Misdiagnoses and Osteoporosis
Alzheimer's disease over-diagnosed: The well-known disease of Alzheimer's disease
is often over-diagnosed.
Patients tend to assume that any memory loss or forgetulness symptom might be Alzheimer's,
whereas there are many other less severe possibilities.
Some level of memory decline is normal with aging,
and even a slight loss of acuity may be noticed in the 30's and 40's.
Other conditions can also lead a person to show greater forgetfulness.
For example, depression and depressive disorders can cause a person to
have reduced concentration and thereby poorer memory retention.
Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for
a patient to show mental decline to dementia.
Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions,
such as a stroke or Alzheimer's disease,
it can also occur from a side effect or interaction between multiple drugs
that the elderly patient may be taking.
There are also various other possible causes of dementia.
Rare type of breast cancer without a lump: There is a less common form
of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer.
Its symptoms can be an inflammation of the breast tissue, such as with a breast rash
with redness and warmth, but not necessarily a physical breast lump.
This type of breast cancer should be considered as an uncommon possibility
for certain types of breast symptoms.
Tremor need not be Parkinson's disease: There is the tendency to believe that
any tremor symptom, or shakiness, means Parkinson's disease.
The reality is that there are various possibilities, such as benign essential tremor,
which is mostly harmless.
see the various causes of tremor and misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Rare diseases misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease: A rare genetic
disorder is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease for men in their 50's.
The disease Fragile X disorder can show only mild symptoms in the early years,
and Parkinsons-like symptoms around age 50.
See misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Female athlete syndrome leads to undiagnosed osteoporosis: Younger women are not usually
considered as candidates for diagnosis of osteoporosis.
However, a pattern of three conditions can occur in female athletes: disordered eating, amenhorrhea,
and bone loss (osteoporosis).
See introduction to osteoporosis.
Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency
is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of multiple sclerosis).
See symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency or misdiagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
Osteoporosis: Rare Types
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
- Chronic Major Diseases -- Rare Types:
- Women's Reproductive Health -- rare types of diseases:
- Women's General Health: rare types of diseases:
- Senior Health: rare types of diseases:
- Pregnancy: rare types of diseases:
- more rare diseases...»
Failure To Diagnose Osteoporosis
Failure to diagnose Osteoporosis may be associated with the following:
- Osteoporosis is less likely to be diagnosed in males as it is primarily considered a female condition
- Osteoporosis remains undiagnosed for long periods of time as it usually causes no symptoms until it causes serious damage. Screening and assessment of risk should be considered in all people (including men) as they get older
- Osteoporosis in older people may remain undiagnosed if the doctor fails to investigate further when a patient suffers a fracture that occurs with minimal trauma
- Studies indicate that often patients who suffer a hip fracture due to osteoporosis are not diagnosed and treated - this is especially true in males and younger females.
Notes On Hidden Causes Of Osteoporosis
The following may be hidden causes of Osteoporosis:
- Estrogen deficiency may be a risk factor for developing osteoporosis. Estrogen deficiency can result from removal of the ovaries, irregular periods or from never giving birth. Low testosterone levels in males increases their risk of osteoporosis
- Life-style factors such as smoking, excess alcohol and caffeine consumption, being underweight or doing insufficient weight-bearing exercise to strengthen bones are also risk factors for osteoporosis
- Certain races are more prone to low bone densities and hence osteoporosis. Asians and Native Americans are the most at risk of osteoporosis followed by Hispanics and Caucasians. African American women are the least likely to develop osteoporosis
- Chronic disease of the lung, stomach, kidneys or intestines may increase the risk as does chronic diseases that affect hormone levels
- Certain medications also increase the risk of osteoporosis e.g. glucocorticoids, anti-convulsants, chemotherapy, aluminium-containing antacids, antiretroviral drugs, cyclosprines, tacrolimus, cytotoxic drugs, furosemide, lithium, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, excessive thyroxine doses, medications for diabetes or chronic diseases such as intestinal, stomach and endocrine gland disorders and rheumatoid arthritis
- Dietary factors that increase the risk of osteoporosis are: high levels of consumption of carbonated or caffeine-containing drinks and meat
- Childhood conditions that increase the risk of osteoporosis are: premature birth, delayed puberty, excessive exercise, anorexia, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease and cystic fibrosis
- Some people inherit the predisposition for osteoporosis
- Osteoporosis may occur secondary to conditions such as hyperthyroidism, lymphoma, hypogonadism, Cushing's disease, hyperparathyroidism, diabetes mellitus, multiple myeloma, disseminated cancer, thalassemia, metastatic cancer, lymphoma, osteogenesis imperfecta, Marfan's syndrome, malabsorption, malnutrition, acromegaly, adrenal insufficiency, primary biliary cirrhosis, gastrectomy, bariatric surgery, magnesium deficiency, calcium deficiency, vitamin D deficiency, protein deficiency, parenteral nutrition, ankylosing spondylitis, hemophilia, leukemia, depression, systemic lupus, porphyria, Riley-Day syndrome, Menkes steely hair syndrome, hypophosphatasia, homocystinuria, Gaucher disease, hemochromatosis, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and glycogen storage disease
- Heparin, a blood thinner, may increase the risk of osteoporosis
Notes On Wrong Diagnosis Of Osteoporosis
Wrong diagnosis of Osteoporosis may be associated with the following:
- Transient osteoporosis of the hip is difficult to differentiate from osteonecrosis of the femoral head and may be wrongly diagnosed
- Osteoporosis may be misdiagnosed as joint disease. Misdiagnosis allows further damage to occur and fractures and permanent debilitation and disfigurement may result
- Osteoporosis is often not considered when a patient presents with a fracture - especially if the patient is male or young.
Complications Of Misdiagnosis Of Osteoporosis
The following may be complications of misdiagnosis of Osteoporosis:
- Hip pain due to osteoporosis of the hip may be misdiagnosed as osteonecrosis of the femoral head
- Compression fractures of the spine may be misdiagnosed as a bone metastasis in males who are suffering or have a history of prostate cancer
- Spinal pain due to osteoporosis is often dismissed by patients simply as old age
- Children with juvenile osteoporosis are often misdiagnosed even if they suffer a fracture or sudden bone pain as osteoporosis is often not even considered as a possibility in children
- Muscle aches and bone pain due to osteoporosis may be dismissed as being caused by stress, infection, muscle strain or exercise
Other Notes On Misdiagnosis Of Osteoporosis
- It is important to detect osteoporosis as early as possible as quite often it is caused by certain medications or other treatable factors such as thyroid problem. Treatment can prevent progression of the disease
- Some early symptoms of osteoporosis that may occur are: gum disease, loose teeth, gradual loss of height, low back pain, lower limb cramps at night and insomnia and restlessness that has a sudden on-set. Many of these symptoms may also occur in other conditions
Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Osteoporosis:
The following medical news items
are relevant to misdiagnosis of Osteoporosis:
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Osteoporosis
or confirming a diagnosis of Osteoporosis,
it is useful to consider what other
medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative
conditions relevant to diagnosis.
These alternate diagnoses of Osteoporosis may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Osteoporosis.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
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