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New Survey Shows Many Women Over Age 50 May Lack an Overall Understanding of the Importance of Vitamin D to Bone Health

Posted on: Monday, 21 March 2005, 18:00 CST

WASHINGTON, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Women over 50 may lack an overall understanding of the importance of vitamin D to bone health, according to new national survey results released today by the Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR). In addition, more than half of the women surveyed (58 percent) reported they have not discussed the importance of vitamin D with their physician. Vitamin D, an essential component of bone health, helps ensure that the body absorbs and retains calcium, which is critical for building strong, healthy bones. Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with reduced calcium absorption, bone loss, and increased risk of fracture. The first-ever Surgeon General's Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis (2004) stressed the importance of getting enough vitamin D as well as calcium and exercise to maintain good bone health, especially for the 10 million Americans who suffer from osteoporosis and the 34 million estimated to have low bone mass.

In the survey of nearly 500 American women over the age of 50 - 20 percent of whom are being treated for osteoporosis or osteopenia - less than half (46 percent) felt vitamin D was "extremely important" for maintaining bone health, whereas almost three-quarters (72 percent) felt that way about calcium. One in six women (16 percent) thought vitamin D was only "somewhat important" or "not important at all" for bone health, versus four percent for calcium.

"Despite calcium and vitamin D both being essential to bone health, these survey results uncover a discrepancy in the relative importance women assign to these two nutrients," said Jo Parrish, vice president for communications, Society for Women's Health Research. "Vitamin D is just as important for your bones as calcium because without adequate vitamin D intake, your bones are not getting the full benefits of calcium, which can lead to poor bone health."

According to the National Institutes of Health, in vitamin D deficient individuals, less than ten percent of calcium may be absorbed.

Vitamin D Inadequacy Widespread in Postmenopausal Women

Of the women surveyed, the vast majority (82 percent) believed they get enough vitamin D. However, other recent study findings show that more than half of postmenopausal women taking medication to prevent or treat osteoporosis have inadequate levels of vitamin D. The survey results also showed that some incorrectly identified the foods that are good sources of vitamin D.

The most frequently mentioned foods that were incorrectly identified by survey respondents as good sources for vitamin D were:

* Green leafy vegetables, which were incorrectly identified as good

sources of vitamin D by 76 percent of survey participants, and

* Citrus fruits, which were incorrectly identified by nearly half (48

percent) of survey participants as a good source of vitamin D.

In fact, the foods that have been identified by nutritionists as actually providing good dietary sources for vitamin D include oily fish (e.g. salmon, mackerel), egg yolks, fortified milk and fortified orange juice. Moreover, in addition to these foods, vitamin D can be obtained through supplementation and through the skin after direct exposure to sunlight, but as adults age the ability to make vitamin D through skin decreases.

"Vitamin D inadequacy is an unmet medical need in postmenopausal women," said Felicia Cosman, M.D., clinical director of the National Osteoporosis Foundation and associate professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University. "More needs to be done to educate postmenopausal women about the importance of vitamin D to their bone health. These survey results should serve as a wake up call for women over 50 to talk to their doctor about the importance of vitamin D as it relates to overall bone health due to the impact of vitamin D insufficiency on calcium absorption, bone loss and fracture risk."

Survey results revealed that two-thirds (66 percent) of women not currently being treated with a prescription for osteoporosis or osteopenia would be more likely to take an osteoporosis medication with added vitamin D than one without vitamin D if their doctor recommended it.

About Vitamin D and Bone Health

Vitamin D plays an important role in building and maintaining healthy bones by promoting calcium absorption. It enhances calcium absorption by the intestine, allowing calcium to enter the bloodstream. Consuming inadequate amounts of foods containing vitamin D or not getting enough vitamin D through supplementation or exposure to sunlight can contribute to poor calcium absorption and in turn, can lead to poor bone health and weak bones. The U.S. Daily Value for vitamin D is 400 international units (IU) for most adults over 50.

More than 10 million people in the United States are estimated to have osteoporosis, and 80 percent are women. Osteoporosis, a disease characterized by low bone mass, can lead to bone fragility and an increased susceptibility to fractures, especially of the hip and spine. Osteoporosis is often called a "silent disease" because bone loss occurs without symptoms. People may not know that they have osteoporosis until their bones become so weak that a sudden strain, bump or fall from standing height causes a fracture or a vertebra to collapse. One in two women over the age of 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her remaining lifetime.

About the Survey

Harris Interactive(R) conducted the survey for the Society for Women's Health Research, with funding provided by Merck & Co., Inc., by telephone between Feb. 17-21, 2005, among a nationwide cross section of 492 U.S. females aged 50 and older. Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults, number of voice/telephone lines in the household, region and size of place were weighted where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results for the overall sample have a sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

About the Society for Women's Health Research

The Society for Women's Health Research is the nation's only non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health of all women through research, education and advocacy. The Society encourages the study of sex differences between women and men that affect the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. Visit us at http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/.

The Society for Women's Health Research

CONTACT: Kristal DeKleer, Society for Women's Health Research,+1-202-496-5001, or kristal@womenshealthresearch.org; or Janet Graesser ofCohn & Wolfe, +1-212-798-9771, or janet_graesser@nyc.cohnwolfe.com

Web Site: http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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