Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a disease that is characterized by bone mass loss and deterioration in bone micro-architecture. One of the most important risk factors is dietary habits. The effects of the amount of calcium intake via eating, and low calcium consumption on the development of osteoporosis is still an active research area. The intestinal absorption of calcium and its renal excretion are still not understood very well. Even though the effects of carbohydrates on calcium absorption is not known clearly, there are studies that there is a positive relationship between carbohydrates and fractional calcium absorption.

Aims and methods: In our study, we have evaluated the amounts of dietary calcium intake and carbohydrates among postmenopausal women with lomber osteoporosis. There were 30 patients with postmenopausal spinal osteoporosis. Patients that were older than 75, had inflammatory disease, cancer diagnosis, oral feeding problems, intestinal absorption problems, renal disease, and the ones that used proton pump inhibitor, as well as the ones that had only hip osteoporosis or mixed type osteoporosis were not included. The demographic data and the resume of patients were recorded. Their daily carbohydrate and calcium consumption were evaluated using FFQ and calculated as daily consumption. L1-L4 t-scores were recorded based on DEXA measurements.

Results: The mean age of patients was 61.1 (49–69), mean BMI was 29.1 (19.5–39.5), L1-L4 t score had an average of −2.9, average daily carbohydrate consumption was calculated as 306.8 mg/day, and average daily calcium consumption was calculated as 1016 mg/day. The recommended values for women over 50 are 130 g/day for carbohydrates, and 1200 mg/day for calcium. In our study group, even though the calcium intake has been found to be below the reference value, there are similar studies in literature originating from Turkey. The carbohydrate consumption has been found to be three times the normal value.

Conclusion: There is no prior study that shows a positive or negative effect of carbohydrates on osteoporosis. In our study, we have shown the increased carbohydrate consumption in postmenopausal lomber osteoporosis. There is definitely a need for larger scale studies on this topic.