[The influence of consumption of phytate on the bone mass in posmenopausal women of Mallorca].

BASIS Osteoporosis is a serious health problem in the population, mainly for postmenopausal women. Therefore, it is important to develop programs to decrease prevalence. The main objective of this study is to determine the influence of phytate consumption on bone mineral density. PATIENTS AND METHOD The bone mineral density was evaluated in postmenopausal women by means of dual X-ray double energy absorptiometry for calcaneous (C), lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN). The results obtained were related to the consumption of phytate by means of a dietary questionnaire. RESULTS In the three different areas (C, LS, FN) we observed significantly higher values of T-score in women that consumed adequate amounts of phytate as opposed to those that did not, (C 0.1 vs. -0.5, LS -1.2 and -2.5 and FN -0.2 and -1.2). There is also an increase in the T-score as more phytate is consumed, up to a maximum of two times a week (C -0.7 in non consumers, -0.2 in those that consume phytate once a week and 0.2 in those that consume phytate twice a week; LS -2.8, -1.7 and 1.1 and finally, CF -1.3, -0.6 and -0.1). CONCLUSION The results obtained seem to indicate that the adequate consumption of phytate may play an important role in the prevention of bone mineral density loss in postmenopausal women.