Dr. Shannon Carpenter is a rare breed among doctors. She wants to see fewer patients.
The shoulder and elbow surgeon at the Kansas City VA Medical Center is finding ways to prevent bone fractures before they happen. She told Military.com that fragility fractures pose a serious, under-discussed threat to aging veterans, especially women, saying that prevention starts with the patient.
As the population of aging women veterans grows and osteoporosis rises, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Carpenter believes bone-density screening should begin at age 40, rather than 50.
“Everyone builds bone until about the age 30 to 35, and after that we all start to lose bone density,” she said. “So, a scan at 40 is not about diagnosing disease. It is about discovering whether someone [has] reached their peak bone mass and bringing the conversation about bone health into midlife where it belongs…