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Vitamin K linked to stronger bones for adolescents
Source: Nutraingredients.com By Stephen Daniells Date: 03/06/08
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 published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
"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," said lead author Marieke Summeren from University Medical Centre Utrecht.
"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."
Osteoporosis
is characterized by low bone mass, which leads to an increase risk of
fractures, especially the hips, spine and wrists. An estimated 75
million people suffer from osteoporosis in Europe, the USA and Japan.
Women are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis than men.
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 maximising the build up of
bone during the highly important pubescent years.
About 35 per cent 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 utilise calcium in bone
tissue. Without adequate vitamin K, the osteocalcin remains inactive,
and thus not effective.
Summeren and co-workers report 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.
"There are two types of vitamin K from dietary
sources. Vitamin K1 is found in leafy green vegetables, and Vitamin K2,
also called menaquinones, are predominately found in fermented cheeses,
curd, and the fermented soy called natto," explained co-author Leon Schurgers from VitaK and Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of Maastricht.
"Vitamin
K1 is mostly used by the liver where it is involved in the synthesis of
certain blood clotting factors. Vitamin K2 is also equally active
outside the liver, in tissues including bone. Thus it is important to
have good sources of both types of vitamin K!"
The research
adds to a growing body of science linking the vitamin to improved boned
health, particularly in post-menopausal women. The Maastricht-based
researchers previously reported that daily supplements of vitamin K2
maintained hipbone strength in postmenopausal women, while placebo led
to weakening (Osteoporosis International, doi: 10.1007/s00198-007-0337-9).
The
double-blind, placebo controlled study followed 325 healthy women with
no osteoporosis for three years and also found that vitamin K2
supplements boosted the women's bone mineral content (BMC), compared to
placebo.
The new study also included researchers from VU
University Medical Centre and the Danone Research Centre Daniel Carasso
in France.
Source: British Journal of Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi:10.1017/S0007114508921760
"Vitamin K status is associated with childhood bone mineral content"
Authors:
M.J.H. van Summeren, S.C.C.M. van Coeverden, L.J. Schurgers, L.A.J.L.M.
Braam, F. Noirt, C.S.P.M. Uiterwaal, W. Kuis, C. Vermeer
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