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Bone mineral acquisition in low calcium intake children following the withdrawal of calcium supplement
Author(s) -
Lee WTK,
Leung SSF,
Leung DMY,
Wang SH,
Xu YC,
Zeng WP,
Cheng JCY
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1997.tb08936.x
Subject(s) - medicine , calcium , calcium supplementation , bone mineral , physiology , osteoporosis
Our recent 18‐month calcium supplementation trial demonstrated a significant increase in radial bone mineral mass in 7‐year‐old children with calcium intake ∼ 300 mg/day (Am J Clin Nutr 1994; 60: 744‐50). The persistence of higher bone mass after cessation of calcium supplementation is unknown. This is a follow‐up study to investigate the lasting effect of calcium supplementation on bone acquisition. Subjects were 159 Chinese children aged 8.7 years. Distal one‐third radial bone mineral content (BMC) and bone width (BW) were measured by single‐photon absorptiometry. After 12 months, the significant difference in mean ± SD percentage radial BMC disappeared between the study and control groups (7.34 ± 6.77% vs 8.67 ± 6.46%. p > 0.05). Dietary calcium intakes were similar between the groups. During the supplementation phase, the study group had 17.9% greater BMC gain than that of controls. In the follow‐up phase, however, the study group had 16.1% less BMC gain than that of controls. It appears that an increased acquisition rate during the supplementation phase was almost balanced by a reduced acquisition rate during follow‐up phase. Moreover, throughout the entire 30‐month period, the overall BMC acquisition rates of the study and control groups were 25% and 23.8%, respectively. Hence, the overall acquisition rate of the study group was only 5% higher than that of controls. Therefore, the effect of calcium supplementation on bone mineral gain appears to reflect a transient reduction in bone turnover rate. Longer‐term calcium trials are necessary to confirm whether a sustainable higher calcium intake throughout childhood will enhance peak bone mass.