Osteoporosis is common disease in Vietnam. Prevelence of osteoporosis in both Vietnamese women and men is comparable with Caucasian and higher than that of Asian population. Measurement of bone mineral density by dual energy X ray absorptiometry is considered as gold standard in diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. However, up to date there has been no concensus in using references of bone mineral density in osteoporosis diagnosis in Vietnam. Objective of this paper is 1) to provide basic knowledge in osteoporosis diagnosis, 2) to review reference valued established in Vietnam, compare with other reference values of Asian and white populations as well as references provided by manufacturer, 3) To point out the over diagnosis of osteoporosis and the consequence in terms of finance that both patients and govement have to pay for those over diagnosis cases. Peak bone mineral density (pBMD) of Vietnamese women is similar with Chinese, but lower than that of Japanese and white counterparts
pBMD of Vietnames~ men is lower than that of Chinese, Japanese and white men. pBMD values of both Vietnamese women and men are lower than the reference provided by the Hologic manufacturer.The proportion of over diagnosis of osteoporosis is about 10 percent of Vietnamese population aged 50+ (9,1 percent for women and 0,9 percent for men), lead to 441 thousand billions Vietnam dong per year (21 billions USD per year) would have spent for those in the group of miss osteoporosis diagnosis. Thus, using bone mineral density reference of Vietnamese in diagnosis of osteoporosis is very important to improve the accuracy in osteoporosis diagnosis and reduce the financial burden for both the patients and govement.