Alcohol intake and bone metabolism in elderly women.

Background: Published reports on the effect of alcohol consumption on bone mineral density (BMD) are inconsistent.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the relation between alcohol intake and BMD, calcitropic hormones, calcium absorption, and other biochemical indexes of bone and mineral metabolism in elderly women.

Design: The results presented are derived from baseline observations of 489 elderly women (aged 65-77 y) recruited for an osteoporosis study.

Smoking and bone metabolism in elderly women.

Cigarette smoking has been implicated as a risk factor for osteoporosis. In the present study, the relationship between smoking and bone mineral density, calcitropic hormones, calcium absorption, and biochemical indices related to bone and mineral metabolism was examined at baseline, in subjects recruited for an osteoporotic study. The subjects included 489 elderly women, aged 65-77 years.

Dietary calcium and vitamin D intake in elderly women: effect on serum parathyroid hormone and vitamin D metabolites.

In this study, the effect of dietary calcium and vitamin D on serum parathyroid hormone and vitamin D metabolites was measured in 376 free-living women aged 65-77 y. Mean calcium intake in both groups was close to the recommended dietary allowance of 800 mg/d. Mean vitamin D intake in the 245 women not taking vitamin D supplements was 3.

Serum vitamin D metabolites and calcium absorption in normal young and elderly free-living women and in women living in nursing homes.

Vitamin D deficiency, which causes osteomalacia, may also be important in the pathogenesis of age-related osteoporosis. We studied serum vitamin D metabolites in 52 young women (mean age: 30 +/- 3 y; range: 25-35 y), 64 elderly free-living women (mean age: 71 +/- 4 y; range: 65-82 y), and 60 elderly women living in nursing homes (mean age: 84 +/- 9 y; range: 61-102 y). Mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (calcidiol) was 10.