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Last Updated: Oct 29, 2008 - 11:04:25 AM |
Findings from a new study suggest vitamin C may be protective against
bone loss in older men. Researchers funded by the Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) reported the findings in the October issue of
the Journal of Nutrition.
The study was led by epidemiologist Katherine Tucker with the Jean
Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts
University in Boston, Mass. Tucker directs the HNRCA's Dietary
Assessment and Epidemiology Research Program.
Osteoporosis--a condition in which bones become porous and
weak--affects about 10 million people in the U.S. population, and low
bone mass is a public health concern among another 44 million people
aged 50 or older. The researchers wanted to examine whether fruit- and
vegetable-specific antioxidants such as vitamin C might decrease
oxidative stress that is linked to accelerated bone loss.
In the Framingham Osteoporosis Study, bone mineral density at the hip,
spine and forearm was measured in 344 men and 540 women aged 75 on
average.
Because people at risk for bone loss, such as smokers, may use vitamin
C supplements more often, the potential effects of vitamin C intake
obtained from diet, supplements, and both diet and supplements were
examined. Interactions based on smoking, calcium and vitamin E intakes
were tracked. The researchers observed significant positive
associations for total vitamin C--both dietary and supplemental--among
men who never smoked.
Among a subset of the participants--whose bone mineral density was
again measured after four years--different interactions were observed.
During those four years, total vitamin C appeared to be protective
against losses in bone mineral density in two areas of the hip among
men with low calcium or vitamin E intakes. That finding is consistent
with previous reports by Tucker and other researchers that higher fruit
and vegetable intake has positive effects on bone mineral status.
The researchers did not observe significant effects of vitamin C intake on bone in women.
ARS is a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Rosalie Marion Bliss, (301) 504-4318, rosalie.bliss@ars.usda.gov
October 8, 2008
--View this report online, plus photos and related stories, at www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr
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