Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-94d59 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T08:56:31.128Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Current diet does not relate to bone mineral density after the menopause

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Steven A Earnshaw
Affiliation:
City Hospital NHS Trust, Hucknall Road, Nottingham NG5 1PB
Ann Worley
Affiliation:
City Hospital NHS Trust, Hucknall Road, Nottingham NG5 1PB
David J Hosking
Affiliation:
City Hospital NHS Trust, Hucknall Road, Nottingham NG5 1PB
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The influence of dietary Ca on peak bone mass and on subsequent bone loss is controversial. Despite this an assessment of nutritional status is often included in the clinical evaluation of osteoporosis risk. To assess the value of this we investigated the relationship between current diet and bone mineral density (BMD) in 426 postmenopausal women, aged 45–59 years, who were enrolled into an international multi-centre trial of alendronate for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. BMD of the lumbar spine and proximal femur was measured on two occasions approximately 2 weeks apart by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Serum osteocalcin was measured by immunoradiometric assay and serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol by radioimmunoassay. Dietary assessment was performed by analysis of a 3d unweighed dietary record, using Salford University's Microdiet software. BMD at both the lumbar spine and femoral neck correlated significantly with BMI, age, and average serum osteocalcin concentration. We therefore corrected for these variables in subsequent analyses. Dietary Ca intake ranged from 223 to 2197mg/d (median 852mg/d). Neither dietary Ca intake nor any other nutritional variable correlated significantly with BMD. There was a weak, but significant correlation between Ca intake and serum osteocalcin. We conclude that current diet does not correlate with BMD in early postmenopausal women. However, present diet may affect the rate of change of BMD, and this is supported by the finding of a significant relationship between dietary Ca and serum osteocalcin, a marker of bone formation rate.

Type
Human and Clinical Nutrition
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1997

References

REFERENCES

Bingham, S. (1987). The dietary assessment of individuals; methods, accuracy, new techniques and recommendations. Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews 57, 705742.Google Scholar
Calvo, M. S. (1993). Dietary phosphorus, calcium metabolism and bone. Journal of Nutrition 123, 16271633.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crawley, H. (1988). Food Portion Sizes. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Dawson-Hughes, B., Dallal, G. E., Krall, E. A., Sadowski, L., Sahyoun, N. & Tannenbaum, S. (1990). A controlled trial of the effect of calcium supplementation on bone density in postmenopausal women. New England Journal of Medicine 323, 878883.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elders, P. J., Netelenbos, J. C., Lips, P., Khoe, E., van Ginkel, F. C., Hulshof, K. F. A. M. & van der Stelt, P. F. (1989). Perimenopausal bone mass and risk factors. Bone and Mineral 7, 289299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elders, P. J., Netelenbos, J. C., Lips, P., van Ginkel, F. C., Khoe, E., Leeuwenkamp, O. R., Hackeng, W. H. L. & van der Stelt, P. F. (1991). Calcium supplementation reduces vertebral bone loss in perimenopausal women: a controlled trial in 248 women between 46 and 55 years of age. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 73, 533540.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heaney, R. P. (1993). Bone mass, nutrition, and other lifestyle factors. American Journal of Medicine 95, Suppl. 5A, 2933.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnston, C. C., Miller, J. Z., Slemenda, C. W., Reister, T. K., Hui, S., Christian, J. C. & Peacock, M. (1992). Calcium supplementation and increases in bone mineral density in children. New England Journal of Medicine 327, 8287.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Käkkäinen, M., Ray, C., Vanninen, T. & Lamberg-Allardt, C. (1996). The influence of habitual dietary calcium intake on markers of bone and calcium metabolism. Osteoporosis International 6, Suppl. 1, 152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lilienthal Heitmann, B. & Lissner, L. (1995). Dietary underreporting by obese individuals - is it specific or nonspecific? British Medical Journal 311, 986989.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1994). National Food Survey 1993: Annual Report on Household Food Consumption and Expenditure. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Murphy, S., Khaw, K. -T., May, H. & Compston, J. E. (1994). Milk consumption and bone mineral density in middle aged and elderly women. British Medical Journal 308, 939941.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Panel on Optimal Calcium Intake (1994). Optimal calcium intake. Journal of the American Medical Association 272, 19421948.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nieves, J. W., Golden, A. L., Siris, E., Kelsey, J. L. & Lindsay, R. (1995). Teenage and current calcium intake are related to bone mineral density of the hip and forearm in women aged 30–39 years. American Journal of Epidemiology 141, 342351.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ramsdale, S. J., Bassey, E. J. & Pye, D. J. (1994). Dietary calcium intake relates to bone mineral density in premenopausal women. British Journal of Nutrition 71, 7784.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reid, I. R., Ames, R. W., Evans, M. C., Gamble, G. D. & Sharpe, S. J. (1993). Effect of calcium supplementation on bone loss in postmenopausal women. New England Journal of Medicine 328, 460464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Selby, P. L. (1994). Calcium requirement - a reappraisal of the methods used in its determination and their application to patients with osteoporosis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 60, 944948.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stevenson, J. C., Lees, B., Devenport, M., Cust, M. P. & Granger, K. F. (1989). Determinants of bone density in normal women: risk factors for future osteoporosis? British Medical Journal 298, 924928.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization (1994). Assessment of Fracture Risk and its Application to Screening for Postmenopausal Osteoporosis. Report of a WHO Study Group. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar