title: Low calcium intake is associated with high plasma homocysteine levels in postmenopausal women.
abstract: Nutritional interventions targeting homocysteine remain controversial, and further nutritional research is warranted. We thus sought to explore the determinants of plasma homocysteine other than B-group vitamins. This cross-sectional study surveyed the nutritional status of 713 Japanese postmenopausal women using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Associations between total energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, and vitamin A and K intakes and homocysteine were insignificant. Mean homocysteine in the second (536.1 ± 34.7 mg/day) and third (712.9 ± 115.6 mg/day) tertiles of calcium intake were lower than in the first tertile (379.6 ± 76.6 mg/day) by -0.57 nmol/mL (95 % confidence interval, -1.10 to-0.04, p = 0.04) and -1.18 nmol/mL (-1.76 to -0.60, p<0.01), respectively, after adjustment for lifestyle and clinical factors (trend p\0.01). Mean homocysteine in those with dietary calcium intake above the median (>536 mg/day) were lower regardless of the folic acid concentration; the differences were -1.59 nmol/mL (-2.33 to -0.85, p = 0.02) and -0.75 nmol/mL (-1.37 to-0.12, p<0.01) for the high (<7.8 ng/mL) and low folic acid groups, respectively. There was no significant association between calcium and folic acid (p = 0.08). In conclusion, further prospective research to confirm our findings is needed for the development of nutritional inventions targeting homocysteine.
authors: Shiro
authors: S
authors: Tanaka
authors: Kazuhiro
authors: K
authors: Uenishi
authors: Yasushi
authors: Y
authors: Yamazaki
authors: Tatsuhiko
authors: T
authors: Kuroda
authors: Masataka
authors: M
authors: Shiraki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D006710:Homocysteine; D005492:Folic Acid
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