How to test for thinning bones...with a clipping of your toenail

BRITAIN’S first DIY test for the bonethinning disease osteoporosis will be available from next week, enabling women and men to discover, without visiting a doctor, whether they are at risk of the debilitating condition.

The breakthrough £39.99 Osentia screening kit uses a single toenail clipping to determine the bone health of the user.

Developed by a British scientist, the test has been hailed as a revolution in the fight against the condition that affects three million in the UK, two-thirds of them women.

Osteoporosis affects the bones throughout the body, making them fragile and more likely to break, and worsens over time if untreated.

The disease gives no warning signs, so is often not discovered until a person suffers a painful broken bone.

There is no screening programme for osteoporosis, though hospital-based tests are routinely carried out on the NHS on women over the age of 65 and men over the age of 75, or from age 50 if there are risk factors such as a family history of osteoporosis, a smoking habit, a body mass index (BMI) under 18.5 or if the person is on oral corticosteroid medication. A private test can cost £200. The new test requires only a single clipping of a fingernail or toenail. This is put in a small plastic bag, supplied in the kit, and sent to a lab along with a health assessment form. This includes questions on personal health, such as diet, lifestyle, age and exercise.

Tests are carried out on the nail sample to assess the structure of the protein keratin in the nail. This is a key indicator of whether a person is at risk of fragility fractures, weak bones and potential osteoporosis.

A risk profile report is returned via email or post within seven working days.

It shows whether the person is of low, moderate or high risk of suffering a fragility fracture using a ‘traffic light’ system of green, amber or red.

Each result comes with a recommendation of what the next step should be. A letter that can be handed to a doctor is sent out if a person is high-risk.

In a healthy body, bone tissue is constantly renewed, with old cells dying and being replaced by new bone cells.

In osteoporosis sufferers, turn-over slows down to the point where the bone ‘dissolves’ faster than it is formed.

The condition mostly affects women from the age of 40, as menopause slows down production of oestrogen hormones, in turn slowing the bone turnover rate.

Aside from menopause, genetics is the major risk factor. However, poor nutrition, lack of calcium and Vitamin D, smoking, long-term use of anti-inflammatory steroid medication as well as some cancer therapies also increase the risk.

Dr Dawn Harper, doctor on ITV’s This Morning, hailed the new test as a first step in preventing people from suffering fractures by helping them discover the condition at an early stage.

‘Osteoporosis has no symptoms until you break a bone,’ said the 53-year-old TV medic, who also works as an NHS GP.

‘Bones can be very thin and still appear normal on an X-ray. This test flags up those at risk before a break and can be taken to a GP so a proper bone scan can be carried out.’

Half of women and one in five men over the age of 50 experience fragility fractures, amounting to about 300,000 every year, and it is estimated they will cost the NHS £2.2billion by 2025.

The Osentia test is now set to appear in pharmacies following trials across the UK and Ireland.

It was developed by British scientist Dr Mark Towler, who began investigating the link between keratin in nails and osteoporosis after observations by sufferers that a positive side effect from treatment was stronger nails.

He discovered that people with osteoporosis had a lower level of disulphide bond – the chemical in the body needed to bind keratin molecules – in their nails.

The new test will be available from tomorrow online from superdrug.com and will be in high street pharmacies across the country from next year.