Dietary calcium intake, physical activity, and bone mineral density in elderly men

노년기 남성의 칼슘 영양 상태, 육체적 활동량과 골격 대사에 관한 연구

The relationships between nutrients intake, physical activity and bone mineral density were investigated in 19 elderly men aged 71-80 years. A trained nutritionist interviewed usual dietary intake and daily activity with a questionnaire, and bone mineral density was measured at the lumbar spine and three regions of the proximal femur (femur neck, Ward's triangle and trochanter) with a Luna DP3 dual photon absorptiometry. The correlations between dietary calcium intake and bone mineral density at the lumbar spine and trochanteric region were significant at P<0.05 and P<0.01 level respectively. the significant correlations were also found between vitamin A(P<0.005), riboflavin(P<0.01), and ascorbic acid(P<0.05) intake and bone mineral density at these sites. Higher physical activity was associated with greater bone mineral density of four sites, but this was not significant. But there were significant relationships between total energy expenditure and bone mineral density of the lumbar spine(P<0.01), femur neck (P<0.05) and Ward's triangle(P<0.05). In this study the results revealed that bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and trochanteric region were associated with dietary calcium intake. And bone mineral density of the femur neck and Ward's triangle were related to physical activity but not to nutrients intake. In conclusion, dietary calcium intake seems to be a important factor for greater bone mineral density. Further evidence will be needed that physical activity protects against bone fracture and osteoporosis in the edlerly.