Bone Mineral Content and Density in Healthy Term Indian Infants at the Age of 1 and 2 Years Assessed by Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry.

Abstract

There is a paucity of data on the bone mineral status of infants, with no data from India. This study was undertaken to assess the bone mineral content (BMC) of the healthy term Indian infants at 1 and 2 y of age, and the influence of factors such as birth weight, gender, current size, and vitamin D levels on BMC. Anthropometry, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D levels, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for the lumbar spine and whole-body BMC were performed at the ages of 1 and 2 y.Mean whole-body BMC was 214.1 ± 40.8g at 1 y (n = 131) and 327.6 ± 87.4g at 2 y (n = 73); lumbar spine BMC was 6.9 ± 1.8g at 1 y and 10.2 ± 3.8g at 2 y. The chief determinants of BMC were the weight and length/height of the infant, with no effect of vitamin D levels. The BMC of Indian infants at 1 y was similar to that reported previously for Caucasian infants.