Dunedin Hospital sterile technician Linda Dingley, 58, said it was only by chance she found out she had osteoporosis — a disease that weakens bones and leaves them vulnerable to fracture.
Mrs Dingley was on the phone with the WellSouth Fracture Liaison Service to check on her mother’s care for the same disease.
During the phone call, she mentioned she had fallen and broken her wrist.
She was then referred for a Dexa (bone density) scan, which confirmed she had the condition.
"It was just by chance," she said.
She knew there was a chance she could have the condition because her mother and aunt both had it, but the timing surprised her.
"I didn’t think I’d be at this stage of my life."
She stressed it was really important to get checked for osteoporosis — especially for women in their 50s.
During menopause, women lost a lot of bone growth due to hormonal changes.
Osteoporosis is often referred to as the silent disease because bone density loss occurs without any symptoms.
Known risk factors included age, genetics and lifestyle choices. People may be more at risk if they have a family history of the disease, a personal history of fragility fractures or falls, are a woman over 50 or man over 65.
Since her diagnosis, Mrs Dingley has begun vitamin D infusion therapy to help with bone growth and regeneration of the bone.
There is no known cure, but osteoporosis can be managed.
Osteoporosis New Zealand executive director John Mulka said one in three women and one in five men will suffer an osteoporotic fracture in their lifetime.
"An estimated 22,300 fragility fractures occur annually," Mr Mulka said.
"These injuries result in over 191,000 hospital bed days annually — equal to an average of 521 hospital beds being occupied every day by fragility fracture patients — costing an estimated $210 million to the health system."
In 2024, ACC accepted nearly 204,000 claims for falls and fracture-related injuries among people aged 65 and over, costing more than $494m.
