Effect of community-based nutrition education intervention on calcium intake and bone mass in postmenopausal Vietnamese women

Department of International Public Health Nutrition, Tokushima University Graduate School of HealthBiosciences, Tokushima, JapanSubmitted 21 September 2007: Accepted 3 April 2008: First published online 31 July 2008AbstractObjective: To examine the effect of community-based nutrition education inter-vention on calcium intake and bone mass in Vietnamese postmenopausal women.Design: A controlled trial was conducted in two groups as intervention andcontrol. The intervention group was given nutrition education during 18 monthsto improve calcium intake, while the control subjects had the usual diet. Calciumintake and bone mass were evaluated every 6 months. Bone mass was assessedby speed of sound (SOS) at calcaneus, referred to as quantitative ultrasoundmeasurement. Anthropometric indices and serum parathyroid hormone (PTH)were determined at baseline and at the end of intervention.Setting: Two rural communes of Hai Duong province located in the Red RiverDelta in Vietnam.Subjects: A total of 140 women aged 55–65 years, who were more than 5 yearspostmenopausal and with low calcium intake (,400mg/d), were recruited. After18 months of intervention, 108 women completed the study.Results: Calciumintakeintheinterventiongrouphadincreasedsignificantly( P,0?01)while it had no significant changes in controls. SOS values were not changedsignificantly in the intervention subjects while it decreased significantly by 0?5%inthe controls (P,0?01). The intervention led to a decrease in serum PTH by 12%(P,0?01). In the controls, there was an increase in serum PTH by 32% ( P,0?001).Conclusion: Nutrition education intervention was effective in improving calciumintake and retarding bone loss in the studied subjects.KeywordsNutrition education interventionCalcium intakeBone massVietnamesePostmenopausal womenOsteoporosis is a disorder linked with ageing. It usuallyoccurs in elderly people, especially postmenopausalfemales