Effects of nutrition education on calcium intake in the elderly

Abstract

Osteoporosis is an age-related decrease in bone density that occurs in both sexes, especially in women within 15 to 20 years of menopause. This condition is responsible for an increase in mortality and morbidity, and loss in functional abilities related to fractures of the vertebral bodies, the proximal portion of the femur, and the distal portion of the radius. Twenty-five percent to 30% of postmenopausal women experience orthopedic complications of osteoporosis ( 1. Avioli L Calcium and osteoporosis. Ann Rev Nutr. 1984; 4: 471-491 Google Scholar ). Prevention is the most cost-effective approach of dealing with this major public health problem. Recent studies demonstrate that a high dietary calcium intake ( 2. Dawson-Hughes B Dallal GE Krall EA Sadowski L Sahyoun N Tannenbaum S A controlled trial of the effect of calcium supplementation on bone density in postmenopausal women. N Engl J Med. 1990; 323: 878-883 Google Scholar , 3. Andon MB Smith KT Bracker M Sartoris D Saltman P Strause L Spinal bone density and calcium intake in healthy postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr. 1991; 54: 927-929 Google Scholar ) or calcium supplementation ( 2. Dawson-Hughes B Dallal GE Krall EA Sadowski L Sahyoun N Tannenbaum S A controlled trial of the effect of calcium supplementation on bone density in postmenopausal women. N Engl J Med. 1990; 323: 878-883 Google Scholar , 4. Reid IR Ames RW Evans MC Gamble GD Sharpe SJ Effect of calcium supplementation on bone loss in postmenopausal women. N Engl J Med. 1993; 328: 460-464 Google Scholar ) can reduce late postmenopausal bone loss.