Am J Clin Nutr. 1988 Sep; 48(3 Suppl): 842-9.

Dietary factors in bone health of elderly lactoovovegetarian and omnivorous women.

Tylavsky FA, Anderson JJ.

Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27514.

The relationships between dietary factors and radial bone indices of omnivorous (n = 287) and lactoovovegetarian (n = 88) postmenopausal women were investigated. Bone mineral content (BMC) and bone density (BD) were determined at mid and distal radius sites using a Norland single-beam bone densitometer. A quantitative food frequency questionnaire assessed usual current and long-term intakes. Multiple regression analyses showed that 1) vegetarianism was a positive contributor (p less than 0.05) to Mid BMC, 2) protein was a positive contributor (p less than 0.02) to Mid and Distal BMC, 3) phosphorus was a negative contributor (p less than 0.10) to Mid and Distal BMC and Mid BD, and 4) current calcium was not a significant contributor to any of the bone indices after age, body mass index, energy, protein, P, and vegetarianism were accounted for in the models. Estimations of long-term Ca intake and other nutrients are necessary if relationships between diet and bone are to be identified at any age period using cross-sectional epidemiological methods.