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Lee Swanson Research Update
Vitamin K Linked to Stronger Bones for Adolescents
March 2008
An adolescent’s vitamin K status could have important long-term implications on bone health, and a better status may protect them from osteoporosis later in life, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
An improved status of the vitamin was found to improve bone mineral content and bone mass in the whole body, according to the study with 307 healthy children with an average age of 11.2 years.
“As children grow, the increase in bone mass may fail to keep up with the increase in height, or length of the bone, and as a consequence, this imbalance may result in fracture,” lead author Marieke Summeren said. “But the main threat of a long-term shortage of K vitamins is that peak bone mass may be compromised, and as we age and begin to lose bone density, the risk of fracture in later life is increased.”
Potential reduction of osteoporosis has traditionally been a two-pronged approach by either attempting to boost bone density in high-risk post-menopausal women by improved diet or supplements, or by maximizing the build-up of bone during the highly important pubescent years.
About 35% of a mature adult’s peak bone mass is built up during puberty.
The new study followed the children for years and correlated vitamin K status, measured as a ratio of undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) to carboxylated osteocalcin (cOC), to bone mineral content (BMC) and markers of bone metabolism.
Osteocalcin is a vitamin K-dependent protein and is essential for the body to utilize calcium in bone tissue. Without adequate vitamin K, the osteocalcin remains inactive, and thus not effective.
Summeren and coworkers reported that large variations were observed in the vitamin K status of the children, both at the start and end of the two-year study. Nonetheless, an improved vitamin K status over the time period, as was observed in 281 children, was associated with a significant increase in BMC.
British Journal of Nutrition Published online ahead of print.
