Calcium supplementation and bone mineral accretion in Chinese adolescents aged 12–14 years: a 12-month, dose–response, randomised intervention trial

• Published in: British journal of nutrition Vol. 112; no. 9; pp. 1510 - 1520
• Main Authors: Ma, Xiao-ming, Huang, Zhen-wu, Yang, Xiao-guang, Su, Yi-xiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 14.11.2014
• Subjects: Absorptiometry, Photon; Accretion; Adolescent; Adolescents; Animals; Asian people; Biological and medical sciences; Bone density; Bone Density - drug effects; Bone mineral density; Calcium; Calcium, Dietary - administration & dosage; Child; China; Diet; Dietary Supplements; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Double-Blind Method; Energy Metabolism; Exercise; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Femur Neck; Food, Preserved; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Girls; Human and Clinical Nutrition; Humans; Intervention; Longitudinal Studies; Lumbar Vertebrae; Male; Milk; Motor Activity; Nutrition research; Puberty - physiology; Sex Factors; Spine; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; China; Bone mineral content; Bone mineral density; Early adolescence; Calcium supplementation; Tanner stages; Human; Accretion; Calcium; Nutrition; Minerals; Inorganic element; Feeding; Micronutrient; Osteoarticular system; Adolescent; Chinese; Bone; Supplementation
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114514002384

A 12-month, dose–response, randomised, intervention trial was conducted to determine adequate Ca intake levels for Chinese adolescents by investigating the effect of Ca supplementation on bone mineral accretion. A total of 220 Han adolescents (111 girls and 109 boys) aged 12–14 years were recruited. All subjects were randomly divided into three groups. The bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) of the whole body, lumbar spine (L1–L4), left hip and femoral neck were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Girls in the high-Ca group (actual Ca intake: 1243 (sd 193) mg/d) exhibited greater increases in the femoral neck BMC compared with those in the low-Ca group (9·7 v. 6·4 %, P =0·04) over the 1-year intervention period. The increases in femoral neck BMC were greater in boys in the high-Ca and medium-Ca groups (actual Ca intake: 985 (sd 168) mg/d) than in those in the low-Ca group (15·7 v. 11·7 %, P =0·03; 15·8 v. 11·7 %, P =0·03). Ca supplementation had significant effects on the whole-body BMC and BMD in subjects with physical activity levels>34·86 metabolic equivalents and on the spine BMD and BMC and BMD of most sites in subjects with Tanner stage < 3. Increasing Ca intake levels with Ca supplementation enhanced femoral neck mineral acquisition in Chinese adolescents. Furthermore, high physical activity levels and low Tanner stage appeared to significantly contribute to the effect of Ca supplementation on bone mass. Whether this is a lasting beneficial effect leading to the optimisation of peak bone mass needs to be determined in other long-term prospective studies.