Bone Abstracts

According various guidelines the basic recommendation in prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) is adequate intake of calcium (1000– 1300 mg/day) and vitamin D (800–1000 IU/day).

Aim: To determine the intake dose of calcium and also the vitamin D saturation in women treated for PMO.

Patients and methods: 465 women with PMO, divided into two groups: patients with newly diagnosed osteoporosis (n=203) and treated patients with PMO (n=262). We used a questionnaire to evaluate demographic dates, eating habits and risk factors for PMO. We measured serum calcium level and 25-OH-vitamin D₃.

Results: Milk consumes only 70% of newly diagnosed patients and 78% of treated patients with PMO. About 18% (group 1) and 13% (group 2) of the patients declared lactose intolerance. Low-fat milk (with the highest content of calcium) prefers 8–11% of the patients. Calcium supplements were used in 41% of group 1 and 87% of group 2. The daily calcium intake in group 1 was 452, and 848 mmol/l in treated group of patients. The serum calcium was the same in both groups (2.35 mmol/l). In both groups was very low saturation of vitamin D – in newly-diagnosed patients, 63% of women had insufficiency of vitamin D, with the mean level of 25-OH-D₃ 17 nmol/l. But also in treated group of patients with PMO was the mean 25-OH-D₃ level was only 35.3 nmol/l, and 41% of these women had vitamin D insufficiency.

Discussion: Also according international surveys is the daily calcium intake very low. Bruyera et al. (2009) find out, that the mean calcium intake in European patients with PMO is 930 mg/day. Our study demonstrated that the calcium intake in our country was lower than Hungary, the country with the lowest calcium intake.

Conclusion: According the result of our study the calcium intake in Slovak women patients with PMO is insufficient and also the saturation of vitamin D is inadequate. Unpleasant is that it is also in treated group of patients. We must in the future clarify causes of this result, if is it noncompliance of the patient, or other reasons.