How To Read Your DEXA Scan (Before It’s Too Late) 

Dr. Vonda Wright walks us through it:

Down to a “T”

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans measure bone mineral density and can help identify fracture risk.

This bone mineral density (before we get to working out T-scores) is reported in grams per square centimeter. Dr. Wright describes approximately 1 g/cm² as a generally healthy value, although interpretation depends on the measurement site (e.g. hip vs spine vs somewhere else, and even where specifically within those), and can also depend on the individual—bone density alone is not the sole factor in fracture risk; bone structure matters too, and DEXA scans aren’t as good with that, even when a trabecular score (a measure of bone structure quality) is offered.

If you do get a trabecular score though, then for what it’s worth, the range you’d like to be in is something like 1.0–1.3.

One thing that a lot of people don’t think about is that bone health should be monitored before old age because peak bone density is reached around age 30, and substantial bone loss can occur during perimenopause and menopause, if we’re not careful.

Now, about the T-score: the T-score compares bone density with that of a healthy 30-year-old of the same sex as you, and the number of the T-score represents standard deviations from the norm. Higher or positive scores indicate greater bone density, while lower scores indicate reduced bone density:

• Above −1: considered to be within the bounds of normal bone density, though really you want 0 or higher
• −1 to −2.5: indicates osteopenia
• −2.5 or lower: indicates osteoporosis

There is also a Z-score: this is mathematically the same thing and is calculated in the same way, but instead, it compares it to the average for people the same age and sex as you. Dr. Wright considers this less important than the T-score. We agree. After all, we want to be healthy, not “average health for our age”!

And, bone density can absolutely be maintained, unless you have some very specific disorder that prevents you from doing so, so it’s not something that’s inevitable with passing years.

Dr. Wright gives her own example; in the video, she compares her 2023 and January 2026 DEXA scans. Her lumbar-spine T-score was 1.7, and she enjoyed a 9% increase in spinal bone density. Her left femoral-neck T-score was 0.1, left total-hip T-score was 1.2, right femoral-neck T-score was 0, and right total-hip T-score was 1.

For more on all of this plus visual illustrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Take care!