Small bowel bacterial overgrowth may not affect bone mineral density in older people.
OBJECTIVE
Small bowel bacterial overgrowth (SBBO) may be associated with malnutrition, diarrhea, and weight loss. Recently, bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with SBBO was reported to be lower, and SBBO may be an important factor in the development of metabolic bone disease. However, the subjects in these studies were relatively young patients with intestinal diseases. There is no information on the effect of SBBO on BMD in older people.


METHODS
Seventeen relatively active and 33 disabled older people participated in this study. SBBO was determined by a breath hydrogen (H2) test after ingestion of a glucose solution. BMD of the lumbar spine and femur were measured using a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scan (DEXA).


RESULTS
One healthy control and 11 disabled subjects were SBBO-positive. The Z-scores of the lumbar spine were not statistically different between groups, and a high incidence of disorders, >70%, was seen in all groups. On the other hand, there were significant differences in the femoral BMD between the healthy controls and the SBBO-negative (P<0.001) and SBBO-positive (P<0.05) groups. No significant difference was seen in femoral BMD between SBBO-positive and SBBO-negative institutionalized people.


CONCLUSIONS
SBBO seems to have little effect on BMD in people approximately 80 years old.
Mitsui
Takahiro
T
Research Center of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, Nagoya University, and Masuko Memorial Hospital, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan. mitsui@htc.nagoya-u.ac.jp
Shimaoka
Kiyoshi
K
Takagi
Chihiro
C
Goto
Yumi
Y
Kagami
Hideo
H
Ito
Akira
A
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D001944:Breath Tests; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000254:growth & development*; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur; D005947:Glucose; D006801:Humans; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000032:analysis; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000382:microbiology*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008297:Male
D006859:Hydrogen; D005947:Glucose