Nutritional status among postmenopausal osteoporotic women in North West of Iran.

BACKGROUND Osteoporosis is a multifactorial disease and one of the most important modifiable factors in the development and maintenance of bone mass is nutrition. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the nutritional status among osteoporotic postmenopausal women in north west of Iran and compare intake of several nutrients important in terms of bone health with the standard values (DRIs). DESIGN Bone mineral density of the left proximal femur, the lumbar spine and total hip were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Ninety-seven postmenopausal osteoporotic women were studied. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to determine food habits and 24-h recall was used to estimate average energy and nutrient intakes. RESULTS The mean t-score for bone mineral density (BMD) of LS, FN and total hip were -3.15 +/- 0.73, -1.93 +/- 0.86 and -1.92 +/- 0.88, respectively. The percentages of participants receiving adequate intake of calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K were 7.2%, 3.1% and 42.3%, respectively. The mean phosphate to calcium ratio was 1.6 +/- 0.87. BMD of femoral neck and total hip was correlated inversely with the amount of energy obtained from fat and positively with energy intake. Among micronutrients studied, calcium was positively correlated with BMD of total hip. CONCLUSION Most of the postmenopausal osteoporotic women in north west of Iran have a considerable deficiency in terms of energy and some micronutrients such as calcium, vitamin D and magnesium, which can be deleterious for bone health.