Vitamin K Status May Be an Important Determinant of Childhood Bone Health

Abstract

There has been relatively little research emphasis on the effect of vitamin K on bone health during childhood. Recent interesting data from an observational study of healthy young girls (aged 3-16 years) in the United States suggests that better vitamin K status is associated with lower levels of markers of bone resorption and bone formation, suggesting a lower rate of bone turnover. However, in that study, vitamin K status was not consistently associated with bone mineral content or gain in bone mineral content over 4 years. There is a need for randomized phylloquinone supplementation trials to better understand the role of vitamin K on bone acquisition in growing children.