Calcium intake assessment in premenopausal women, consumers of a plant-based diet and located in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area

Abstract

Calcium is one of the essential nutrients intervening in bone health. Objective: To assess calcium intake in a group of premenopausal women consumers of a plant-based diet (PBD). Materials and methods: Premenopausal women between 30 and 45 y/o consumers of a PBD were invited to participate. A 24-hour food reminder was provided for the intake evaluation. Argentina’s National Nutrition and Health Survey (ENNyS, 2007) was used as available information on calcium intake in our population. In a participants’ subset, the bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine (L1-L4) was evaluated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), while the trabecular bone score (TBS) was used to study the microarchitecture. Results: The study included 30 women with an average adherence time (X±DS) to PBD of 5.6±4 years, of 35.6±4 years and a body mass index (BMI) of 23.7±3kg/m2. An average daily calcium intake (95% CI) of 980mg (639mg-1.320mg) was observed in vegetarian women, while in vegan women it was 772mg (460mg-1.085mg), higher than the general population (406mg). A positive correlation was observed between BMD and BMI (r=0.990; p=0.01), though not between BMD and calcium intake. Conclusions: In this cohort of premenopausal women consuming a PBD, the vegetarians and 96.5% of vegans met the estimated average requirement. An appropriate planning of the PBD prevents nutritional deficiencies that may affect bone health.