Vitamin D status and markers of bone turnover in Caucasian and South Asian postmenopausal women living in the UK

• Published in: British journal of nutrition 2010-06, Vol.103 (12), p.1706-1710
• Main Authors: Lowe, Nicola M., Mitra, Soma R., Foster, Peter C., Bhojani, Issak, McCann, John F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Alkaline Phosphatase - metabolism; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Asian people; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - blood; Bone and Bones - diagnostic imaging; Bone and Bones - metabolism; Bone Density; Bone Density Conservation Agents - administration & dosage; Bone Resorption - blood; Bone turnover; Bones; Collagen Type I - blood; Comparative studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; European Continental Ancestry Group; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Middle Aged; Osteoblasts - metabolism; Osteoporosis - metabolism; Pakistan - ethnology; Parathyroid Hormone - blood; Peptides - blood; Phosphopeptides - blood; Postmenopause; Procollagen - blood; South Asian women; Ultrasonography; United Kingdom; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Vitamin D; Vitamin D - analogs & derivatives; Vitamin D - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency - ethnology; White people; Women
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114509993850

Suboptimal vitamin D status among the South Asian UK population is widely reported; however, its impact on bone health is unclear. The aim of the present study was to conduct a comparative investigation of vitamin D status in postmenopausal South Asian (SA) and Caucasian (C) women and its relationship to parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentration, biochemical markers of bone turnover and bone quality. A cross-sectional study of community-dwelling women aged 50–66 years was carried out. A total of sixty-six SA women of Pakistani origin and forty-two C women living in the same community were recruited. Fasting blood was taken for the measurement of vitamin D, PTH and biochemical markers of bone turnover, including type-1 collagen β C-telopeptide (βCTX), procollagen type-1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP), and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) activity. Bone quality was assessed using broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA). Total serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was significantly lower in the SA women than the C women (medians: SA 10·5 v. C 47·1 nmol/l; P