Effect of calcium supplementation on urinary hydroxyproline in osteoporotic postmenopausal women

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Abstract
Although calcium supplements are widely used to reduce bone resorption in osteoporosis, their beneficial effect is not conclusively established. We studied the effect of a calcium supplement (1 g/day for 8 days) in 14 postmenopausal osteoporotic women. The fasting urinary hydroxyproline/creatinine ratio decreased from 0.022 ± 0.001 to 0.017 ± 0.001 (p < 0.005) indicating a significant reduction in bone resorption. Both the tubular maximum for phosphate reabsorption (1.12 ± 0.06 to 1.34 ± 0.07, p < 0.005) and plasma phosphate concentration (1.04 ± 0.04 to 1.14 ± 0.04, p < 0.01) increased, consistent with suppression of parathyroid hormone activity. These results support the concept that calcium supplementation is useful in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.