Calcium intake-mother/daughter - EFR 6-26

The following should provide impetus to nutrition education efforts aimed at mothers. If they cannot be persuaded to increase their consumption of calcium (hopefully through more dairy foods) for themselves then maybe they can be convinced to be models for their daughters.

Excerpted from abstract of journal article, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 63:72-79, 1996.

BONE MINERAL DENSITY IN MOTHER-DAUGHTER PAIRS: RELATIONS TO LIFETIME EXERCISE, LIFETIME MILK CONSUMPTION, AND CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS

Authors: Cornelia M Ulrich, Constance C Georgiou, Christine M Snow-Harter, and Dawn E Gillis. Authors are from the Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; and the Department of Nutrition and Food Management, Bone Research Laboratory, and the Department of Exercise and Sport Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.

The research looked at possible connections between lifetime milk consumption, calcium intake from supplements, lifetime weight-bearing exercise, and bone mineral density (BMD). Twenty- five elderly women (average age of 72 years) and their premenopausal daughters (average age of 41 years) participated in the study. The BMD of the total, axial (trunk), and peripheral (arms and legs) parts of the skeleton was measured. A questionnaire and interview were used to determine lifetime milk consumption, supplemental calcium intake, and weight-bearing exercise of the participants in the study.

Results of statistical analyses indicated that mothers' total and peripheral BMD were positively associated (as the factor increased the BMD increased) with the following factors: supplemental calcium intake after 60 years of age, body weight, current estrogen replacement therapy (ERT), and past oral contraceptive (OC) use. The mothers' total and peripheral BMD were negatively associated (as the factor increased the BMD decreased) with these factors: age and height. Mothers' axial BMD was positively correlated with body weight and past OC use. For the daughters, the amount of lifetime weight-bearing exercise could be used to predict total and peripheral BMD, and total lean mass could predict axial BMD. The amount of milk that the mother consumed over a lifetime was positively associated with milk consumption by their daughters. After adjustment for daughters' exercise, and mothers' age, body weight, and ERT, it was found that mothers' and daughters' peripheral BMD values were positively correlated.

The authors stated that the results suggest that calcium supplementation and estrogen replacement therapy help increase bone mass in postmenopausal years. The authors felt that their findings gave support to recommendations for physical activity as a way to prevent osteoporosis. The authors concluded, "In the age groups studied, the effects of behavioral and hormonal factors on BMD appeared to dominate over familial similarity, which suggests that women may successfully enhance their genetically determined bone mass through weight-bearing exercise, postmenopausal ERT, and adequate calcium intake."