Postmenopause tests: bone, heart and metabolic health
A proper baseline for the decades after menopause, covering the bone chemistry, cardiovascular and metabolic markers that quietly shift once oestrogen falls away.
About this stage
This stage is about the long run. A postmenopause check covers the bone group of calcium, phosphate, vitamin D and parathyroid hormone (included so that any calcium abnormality can be interpreted straight away rather than needing a second visit, since it is normally a second-line test read against calcium), the cardiovascular and metabolic group of lipids, HbA1c and fasting glucose, and the general group of kidney function, liver function, TSH, iron studies and a full blood count. It is a fasting, morning collection, and it is designed to be repeatable so you can watch a trend rather than react to one number.
The questions here are about risk rather than symptoms. What blood tests show a bone problem. When should parathyroid hormone be checked, and what does a raised one mean. Is my calcium normal for my age. My cholesterol has crept up since menopause, is that the menopause or is it me. Should I be worried about diabetes now. And the one nobody asks out loud: what should I be doing so the next twenty years go well.
Testing fits as a baseline and then as a trend. After menopause, bone loss accelerates and the cardiovascular risk profile changes, so the markers that mattered a little at 45 matter more at 55. Bloods identify the correctable contributors: low vitamin D, a parathyroid or calcium abnormality, an under-active thyroid, iron deficiency, and metabolic markers drifting the wrong way. Your doctor reads them together and, where a bone density scan is the right next step, refers you for one.
Thyroid and iron sit in the same collection for a plain reason: an under-active thyroid and low iron both cause fatigue, low mood and hair thinning that get attributed to age, and both are easy to measure and easy for your doctor to address. Checking them alongside the bone and metabolic markers means one visit rather than three.
What bloods cannot do is measure your bone density. That is what a DEXA scan is for, and no blood test substitutes for it. Nor can a single set of results predict a fracture or a heart event. What they do is describe where you are now, honestly, so you and your doctor can decide what is worth acting on. Self-pay, not Medicare-rebated. Abnormal results are always followed up by a doctor.
Vitamin D deficiency in women
Symptoms, the blood test, and the Australian ranges used to read it.
Insulin resistance in women
The signs, the tests that check it, and what HbA1c means.
Thyroid blood tests explained
TSH, free T4, free T3 and antibodies, and how they are read together.
Ferritin and iron studies explained
Normal ranges, what low iron means, and what happens next.
Menopause tests: what they confirm and cost
Where testing helps after the transition, and where it does not.
Choose your test
Pick the check that matches your question. The test page lists every marker, the fasting rules, and the price before you order.
A doctor requests it
Upload a request your own GP or specialist has signed, or answer a short questionnaire and have a KnowLuna women's health doctor review it and request the panel.
Collect and understand
Give your sample at an accredited collection centre near you, or choose a home kit or a nurse visit where the test allows it. Plain-English results land in your account, with a doctor to talk them through and refer you on where that is the right step.
Common questions
What blood tests show a bone problem?
Calcium, phosphate, vitamin D and parathyroid hormone together describe the chemistry that supports bone, and kidney and liver function put those in context. They point to correctable contributors such as low vitamin D or a parathyroid abnormality. They do not measure bone density, which is what a DEXA scan does, and your doctor arranges that separately if it is indicated.
When should parathyroid hormone be checked?
Usually when calcium is outside the expected range, high or low, or when vitamin D is very low, or when there is unexplained bone loss. Parathyroid hormone is read alongside calcium rather than alone, because the pair is what tells the story. Ranges vary by laboratory; your report shows the range your lab uses.
Do I need to fast for this check?
Yes. Fasting glucose and the lipid profile need eight to twelve hours without food, water only, and a morning collection is easiest for that. Take your usual prescribed medicines as normal unless your own doctor has told you otherwise. Full instructions come with your request so there are no surprises on the day.
How often should this be repeated?
That depends on what the first set shows and on your history, so your doctor suggests an interval rather than a rule. Your doctor sets the interval from your risk, and for many women that is every few years rather than every year, with the bone chemistry repeated when something needs following. Because your results are kept in one place, the trend across years is visible.
Sources and further reading
- Australasian Menopause Society: What is menopause? (information sheet)
- Healthdirect: post-menopause
- Jean Hailes for Women's Health: bone health
- Australian guideline for assessing and managing cardiovascular disease risk (2023)
- Medical Journal of Australia: Vitamin D and health in adults in Australia and New Zealand, position statement (2012)
- Pathology Tests Explained (RCPA): test index
General information only, not medical advice. A blood test is one input to a doctor's assessment, not a diagnosis on its own. If your symptoms are severe or sudden, see a doctor promptly. Read our medical disclaimer.
more than a shrug.