Mother refuses to see a doctor about her bones. Even though she is getting more and more stooped over, she insists her spine is straight as ever. Is there any way to tell if she is getting brittle bones without an X-ray? It would sure be helpful if there was some kind of test kit at the drug store like they have for early pregnancy testing.

Nothing like an over-the-counter test kit to look for osteoporosis is available at this time. But that is a great idea! We can suggest a 21-item questionnaire developed by a group of German researchers.

This simple questionnaire was developed by first analyzing a group of patients who had a broken bone caused by osteoporosis. The presence of osteoporosis was verified in each of these patients using the special dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) available for testing bone density.

The group ranged in age from 40 to 80 years old. Decreased bone mineral density was observed in 80 per cent of the patients. Half were diagnosed with a clear case of osteoporosis. By studying common factors among the group, they were able to identify the most important risks. The first was age over 70 followed by a history of smoking or heavy alcohol use.

Early menopause (women younger than 45 years old) and a loss of more than four centimeters (one inch) in height (for men and women) also correlated with increased risk of bone fracture linked to osteoporosis. There was one other important risk factor and that was a long period of being immobile (e.g., bed bound or in a wheelchair) or inactive.

If your mother has a cluster of these risk factors (two or more) then it’s probably time to insist on a closer inspection. More formal testing can be done through the use of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), a special way to measure bone density.

You can also get some great information from the National Osteoporosis Foundation website to help you convince your mother of the need to seek medical help sooner than later. Prevention is the key but short of that step, then early recognition and treatment of the condition can help prevent disabling and even life-threatening fractures.