Dr Caoimhe Hartley

Well, depressing in one way.

You have a fifth of your bone density that you can then influence with what you're doing, like your vitamin D and all that stuff.

Giving up smoking, reducing caffeine.

Alcohol.

I don't know what is alcohol.

You're influencing the other 20%.

So your peak bone density is in your 30s.

Also really depressing.

So your peak bone density, early 30s, that is 80% determined by genetics.

And the other fifth is determined by, did you smoke?

Are you active?

All of those other things.

Are you celiac diabetic?

Are you on steroids?

Blah, blah, blah.

And then you lose your bone density from early 30s onwards, but it's really low.

It's a really slow rate of loss.

Then you have your final period or maybe late perimenopause if you're skipping a few months at a time.

and you're going through stretches of time, you know, not significant oestrogen production, that's when we start to see rapid bone density loss, about 2% per year for about five years, but anything up to 20% in that five years after your period stop.

I think, and again, don't quote me on this, but you need to talk to radiology about this.