HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Napoli, N. Articles by Armamento-Villareal, R. C Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Napoli, N. Articles by Armamento-Villareal, R. C Agricola Articles by Napoli, N. Articles by Armamento-Villareal, R. C

Effects of dietary calcium compared with calcium supplements on estrogen metabolism and bone mineral density^1,2,3,4

¹ From the Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO

Background: High calcium intake has been associated with both high bone mineral density (BMD) and high urinary estrogen metabolites. However, the role of dietary calcium and calcium supplements on estrogen metabolism and BMD remains unknown.

Objective: The objective was to investigate the importance of the source of calcium intake on estrogen metabolism and BMD.

Design: The average total daily calcium intake from supplements and diet, urinary estrogen metabolites, and spine and proximal femur BMD were studied in 168 healthy postmenopausal white women.

Results: Women who obtained calcium primarily from the diet or from both the diet and supplements had significantly (P = 0.03) lower ratios of nonestrogenic to estrogenic metabolites (2-hydroxyestrone 1/16-hydroxyestrone) than did those who obtained calcium primarily from supplements. Adjusted BMD z scores were significantly greater in the subjects who obtained calcium primarily from the diet or from both the diet and supplements than in those who obtained calcium primarily from calcium supplements at the spine (P = 0.012), femoral neck (P = 0.02), total femur (P = 0.003), and intertrochanter (P = 0.005). This difference was evident especially in those who obtained calcium primarily from the diet, whose total calcium intake was lower than that in those who obtained calcium primarily from supplements.

Conclusion: Calcium from dietary sources is associated with a shift in estrogen metabolism toward the active 16-hydroxyl metabolic pathway and with greater BMD and thus may produce more favorable effects in bone health in postmenopausal women than will calcium from supplements.

Key Words: Calcium • estrogen metabolism • bone mineral density • osteoporosis

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. E. DE ANGEL, D. BERRIGAN, N. P. NUNEZ, S. D. HURSTING, and S. N. PERKINS Dietary Calcium Source Influences Body Composition, Glucose Metabolism and Hormone Levels in a Mouse Model of Postmenopausal Obesity In Vivo, July 1, 2009; 23(4): 527 - 535. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. M Daly, N. Petrass, S. Bass, and C. A Nowson The skeletal benefits of calcium- and vitamin D3-fortified milk are sustained in older men after withdrawal of supplementation: an 18-mo follow-up study Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, March 1, 2008; 87(3): 771 - 777. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Remer Dietary calcium, the 16{alpha}-hydroxyl metabolic pathway of steroids, and sex hormones in blood and urine Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, January 1, 2008; 87(1): 192 - 193. [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Armamento-Villareal and N. Napoli Reply to T Remer Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, January 1, 2008; 87(1): 193 - 194. [Full Text] [PDF]