Dairy intakes affect bone density in the elderly.

Background: Race and sex differences in the effect of diet on bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip in the elderly are unknown.

Objectives: This study related cross-sectional nutrient and dairy product consumption to hip BMD in white and black men and women aged >60 y and evaluated the influence of nutrient and dairy product consumption on changes in BMD in a white cohort participating in a calcium, vitamin D, or placebo trial.

Design: The Health Habits and History Questionnaire was used in 289 white women and 116 white men who participated in the trial and in 265 black women and 75 black men to predict total hip and femoral neck BMD or changes in BMD.

Results: Blacks had higher calcium intakes than did whites (700 and 654 mg/d, respectively; P = 0.0094), and men had higher calcium intakes than did women (735 and 655 mg/d, respectively; P = 0.0007). For men, the correlation between total hip BMD and dairy calcium intake after adjustment for age, race, and weight was 0.23 (P < 0.005); this relation was not significant in women (r = 0.02, P = 0.12). Similar results were found for femoral neck BMD. In the longitudinal study, calcium supplementation reduced bone loss from the total hip and femoral neck in those who consumed <1.5 servings of dairy products/d and were <72 y old.

Conclusions: Cross-sectional results indicated that higher dairy product consumption is associated with greater hip BMD in men, but not in women. Calcium supplementation protected both men and women from bone loss in the longitudinal study of whites.