Determinants of bone mass in Chinese women aged 21–40 years. II. Pattern of dietary calcium intake and association with bone mineral density

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Abstract
A study on the determinants of bone mass in young women is being carried out among 287 young Chinese women aged 21–40 years. The baseline cross-sectional data show that the mean dietary calcium intake, estimated from the quantitative food frequency method, was 448 mg/day (standard deviation = 219). About 50% of the calcium source was from vegetables and 22% from dairy products. Among women aged 21–30 years, those with a dietary calcium intake of at least 600 mg/day had a 4%–7% higher mean bone mineral density at the spine and femur when compared with those with a mean intake below 300 mg/day. In women aged 31–40 years, subjects belonging to the highest quartile of calcium density (⩾35 mg/420 kJ) had a 3%–8% higher mean bone mineral density at the spine and femur when compared with those in the lowest quartile (<20.8 mg/420 kJ). Favorable calcium intake is beneficial in this population of young women with habitual low dietary calcium intake.