Bone Abstracts

Objectives: Skeletal mass approximately doubles at the end of adolescence. Low areal bone mineral density (BMD) associated with vitamin D deficiency may be highly prevalent in some regions of the world. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of different socioeconomic conditions on BMD and vitamin D status in healthy Turkish female university students and to determine an association between Vitamin D status and BMD.

Participants and methods: We asked relevant questions about socioeconomic status of 138 healthy female university students in urban area. Height and weight were measured. Serum samples for vitamin D of all participants were collected in May. BMD of the lumbar spine and total body was performed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan (Lunar DPX series). Osteopenia was defined by a z-score below −2. Female students were grouped into three socioeconomic status as lower, middle and higher according to the educational and occupational levels of their parents.

Results: The ages of girls involved in the study ranged between 18 and 22 years, with a mean of 20.13±0.93z-scoreyears. Although vitamin D level was found to be lower in girls with lower socioeconomic status, there was no significant difference between the three different socioeconomic status (P=0.851). Similar results for total body and lumbar spine BMD values and z-scores were obtained (P>0.05). There was no significant difference regarding frequency of osteopenia among three different socioeconomic status (P=0.164). No significant difference was found in vitamin D levels between female with and without osteopenia (P=0.143). Significant positive correlations were found between total body BMD z-score and BMI and body weight (r=0.271 and r=0.381 respectively, P<0.001).

Conclusion: We can conclude that the differences observed in socioeconomic status do not influence the vitamin D status and BMD in female university students. This result may be explained by the fact that we live in a sunny country. Furthermore, socioeconomic differences may be decreased in urban areas. Besides, vitamin D status does not influence BMD values in young females.

Disclosure: The authors declared no competing interests.