No Bones About It

Mary Ann Dobesh is petite, slender, and in great shape. It’s hard to believe that at 46, she has the same health concerns as women who are much older. Osteoporosis—and osteopenia, a decrease in bone density that is a precursor to osteoporosis—is widespread in her family.

Her grandmother had osteoporosis to the extent that she was stooped over and her day-to-day activities were affected by it. Dobesh’s 80-year-old mother had been proactive with calcium supplementation, but still was diagnosed with osteoporosis; however, she’s now taking prescription medicine and has no visible signs of the disease. Dobesh’s 51-year-old sister was recently diagnosed with osteopenia.

Osteoporosis affects an estimated 44 million Americans, or 55 percent of people 50 years of age or over, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. And it seems that genetics play a major factor in determining who will get osteoporosis and who will not.

Osteoporosis is called a silent disease because there generally are no symptoms.

Audra Keller was diagnosed with it eight years ago, at age 61, but she took it all in stride.

“I wasn’t the slightest bit surprised. My grandmother had it, my aunt had it, my mother was just bent in half she had it so bad. It was no big surprise,” says Keller of the disease that was first diagnosed in her hip. “However, there is a wonderful drug on the market called Fosamax. My gynecologist put me on it right away and told me to keep taking it.” Fosamax decreases cell activity that causes bone loss and may even increase bone mass for some patients.

Neither Keller nor Dobesh is taking their genetic destiny lying down. Dobesh, is an accomplished golfer and a lifelong athlete who’s keeping tabs on her bone density and finding that staying active gives her good results. She’s worked for 14 years at The Marsh, a fitness center in Minnetonka, where she teaches Pilates and golf fitness.

“I decided to have a bone density test when I turned 40, just a baseline so I knew where I was at a healthy 40-year-old age,” Dobesh says. “Moving forward I just wanted to keep on top of it.” Six years later, there are still no signs of trouble, which she attributes to her job: “My doctor said my bones are like those of a 30-year-old.”

Stealthy and Silent

Both women have made smart choices about managing their risk, but osteoporosis specialist Dr. Catherine Niewoehner, an endocrinologist with the VA Medical Center and the University of Minnesota’s Academic Health Center, says much of your risk is determined by “how well you chose your parents.”

If you have really good bone mass at age 30, chances are you’ll have a fair amount of bone mass later in life. People with larger bone diameters have stronger bones than people who have smaller bone diameters, and people who start out with small bones lose their mass more quickly as they age. But smoking and heavy drinking are also associated with thinner and less dense bones.