Women’s Health: Optimizing Bone Health

Listen up, ladies. This series is for you!

Whether you’re entering early perimenopause or in the throes of menopause, AARP Ohio is bringing together women’s health experts to lead conversations designed for women who want answers, support, and expert guidance through the transition.

In this session, Dr. Sabashini Ramchand will discuss bone health, who is at risk, and what the latest evidence-based approaches say about prevention and treatment.

This talk will systematically navigate the physiological and clinical dimensions of skeletal health during the menopausal transition, beginning with an overview of how estrogen withdrawal accelerates trabecular bone loss and alters bone microarchitecture. The presentation will then discuss risk stratification and diagnostic assessment, highlighting the optimal timing for baseline DXA screening, the clinical utility of bone turnover markers, and the identification of high-risk patient phenotypes. Finally, the outline will transition to evidence-based management strategies, evaluating the foundational role of lifestyle modifications alongside targeted pharmacological interventions. 

About the Expert:

Dr. Sabashini K. Ramchand, BMedSci, MBBS, is an endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic. She completed her medical education and fellowship in Endocrinology in Melbourne, Australia, before joining the Cleveland Clinic in 2024. Her clinical practice focuses on bone and metabolic health during the menopausal transition. In addition, she has established a specialized clinic dedicated to optimizing bone health in women with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant endocrine therapy.

Dr. Ramchand has developed a distinguished national and emerging international reputation for her research in bone health, characterized by a focused and impactful body of work. During her tenure at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, she led and contributed to high-impact studies aimed at improving the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis. As a Co-Investigator on NIH-funded trials, she played a key role in elucidating the mechanistic and clinical benefits of combining denosumab with teriparatide. This research resulted in multiple national and international presentations and publications in leading skeletal and endocrine journals, influencing current treatment algorithms for osteoporosis and earning extensive citation in global musculoskeletal research forums.

In parallel, through her doctoral research at the University of Melbourne, Dr. Ramchand examined the skeletal and metabolic effects of estradiol suppression therapy for breast cancer in premenopausal women. She led a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of denosumab in preventing treatment-induced bone loss, with findings published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. This work directly informed the development of a national position statement on assessing and managing bone health in women with estrogen receptor–positive early breast cancer, for which she served as an invited member of the Working Group. The position statement—endorsed by four major Australian professional societies—has since become a widely cited and utilized clinical resource across Australia.

Dr. Ramchand has further contributed to policy development through her participation in national and international expert working groups. She has served as an invited member of committees responsible for consensus recommendations on the management of primary hyperparathyroidism, jointly commissioned by the Endocrine Society of Australia, ANZBMS, and allied societies, as well as on denosumab discontinuation, commissioned by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

A respected leader in her field, Dr. Ramchand has held several prominent roles within the ASBMR, the foremost professional society for bone and mineral research. In 2023, she was appointed Clinical Chair of the ASBMR Annual Scientific Meeting Program Organizing Committee—a highly prestigious, internationally nominated position requiring demonstrated leadership in scientific program development. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Early-Stage Investigator Committee, leading multiple initiatives to mentor and train future leaders in musculoskeletal health. During her time in Australia, she also made significant contributions to clinical guideline development and research advancement through service on key committees, including the Therapeutics Committee and the Annual Scientific Meeting Program Organizing Committee of the Australian & New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society (ANZBMS).

Dr. Ramchand actively contributes to the advancement of scientific scholarship through her editorial service. She serves as a standing editorial board member for Bone and Bone Reports—two internationally recognized journals in musculoskeletal research—and as a regular reviewer for several other leading journals, including the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Osteoporosis International, and the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.