Poor bone health and increased cardiovascular disease risk : evidence of a link in the D - FINES study

Methods: The D-FINES study (Vitamin D, Food Intake, Nutrition and Exposure to Sunlight in Southern England) is currently investigating the interaction between diet and sunlight exposure on vitamin D status in Caucasian and Asian women aged 19–70 years living in Southern England. Fasted blood samples were collected from a total of 279 Caucasian and 94 Asian women in each season. Bone quality was assessed using broadband ultrasound attenuation BUA during Autumn and Spring seasons of 2007. Aim: The aim of the present subsidiary study was to examine: 1) the association between serum lipids and bone quality in Autumn and Spring 2007; 2) the association between vitamin D status and BUA according to ethnicity groups. Results: As is shown in the Table below, there was a significant negative correlation between lipid profiles and BUA in Caucasian women but not Asian women, with effect greatest in the Spring. These finding remained significant for cholesterol, TAG and LDL after adjustment for BMI and vitamin D status.. Table. Pearson correlation (r values) between serum lipid and BUA in Caucasian and Asian women Autumn 07 Spring 07 All groups n=86 Caucasian n=58 Asian n=28 All groups n=47 Caucasian n=34 Asian n=13