Assessment of Bone Health Using Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) And Its Association with Dietary Intakes, Serum Vitamin D Levels, and Anthropometric Measures in Healthy Urban Preschool Children.

Abstract

To generate reference data for bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) measures among apparently healthy children aged 4-5 y and to study the relationship of BMC and BMD with age, sex, anthropometric measures, dietary intakes, and serum vitamin D levels. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 219 urban preschool children, aged 4.0-5.11 y. Bone health (BMC and BMD) was measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Anthropometric parameters were measured using standard methodology. The 24-h dietary recall method was used to assess the dietary intake of the children. Serum vitamin D levels were assessed using the ELISA kit method. Percentiles for BMC and BMD for each age and sex were constructed using the lambda-mu-sigma (LMS) method. The mean BMD and BMC among children was 0.75 ± 0.04g/cm2 and 544.9 ± 87.6g, respectively, and were significantly different by age and sex category. The BMC and BMD values of boys and girls increased with age, with boys having significantly higher values. A significant positive correlation was observed for BMC and BMD with anthropometric measures and dietary intake of calcium, phosphorous, protein, zinc, and B vitamins. This study developed smoothed percentile curves for BMC and BMD in preschool children, which could be used as reference values for children from India.