Vitamin K supplement along with vitamin D and calcium reduced serum concentration of undercarboxylated osteocalcin while increasing bone mineral density in Korean postmenopausal women over sixty-years-old.

There are inconsistent findings on the effects of vitamin K on bone mineral density (BMD) and undercarboxylated osteocalcin (UcOC). The present intervention study evaluated the effect in subjects over 60-yr-old. The vitamin K group (vitamin K + vitamin D + calcium supplement; 15 mg of vitamin K2 [menatetrenone] three times daily, 400 IU of vitamin D once a day, and 315 mg of calcium twice daily) and the control group (vitamin D + calcium supplement) were randomly assigned. During the six months of treatment, seventy eight women participated (38 in the vitamin K group and 40 in the control group) and 45 women completed the study. The baseline characteristics of study participants did not differ between the vitamin K and the control groups. In a per protocol analysis after 6 months, L3 bone mineral density has increased statistically significantly in the vitamin K group compared to the control group (0.01 ± 0.03 g/cm(2) vs -0.008 ± 0.04 g/cm(2), P = 0.049). UcOC concentration was also significantly decreased in the vitamin K group (-1.6 ± 1.6 ng/dL vs -0.4 ± 1.1 ng/dL, P = 0.008). In conclusion, addition of vitamin K to vitamin D and calcium supplements in the postmenopausal Korean women increase the L3 BMD and reduce the UcOC concentration.

Serum total bilirubin concentration is inversely correlated with Framingham risk score in Koreans.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Compelling evidence suggests that bilirubin, via its antioxidant potential, has anti-atherogenic properties, and that serum bilirubin concentrations within the reference range for the general population may provide some protection against coronary artery disease (CAD). This study examined the association between serum total bilirubin concentration and Framingham risk score (FRS) in the Korean population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 19,792 Koreans. In addition to FRS, data on body mass index, fasting blood glucose, liver enzymes, lipid profile, uric acid, gamma glutamyltransferase, high-sensitive C-reactive protein and total bilirubin were used. RESULTS: Negative correlations were established between log-transformed total bilirubin concentration and FRS (females; r = -0.067, p <0.001, males; r = -0.128, p <0.001). Analyses relating total bilirubin to FRS ≥10% utilized multiple confounder adjusted logistic regression. Unadjusted odd ratios for FRS ≥10% were 0.325 (95% CI: 0.160-0.659, p = 0.002) and 0.342 (95% CI: 0.281-0.417, p <0.001) for log-transformed total bilirubin in females and males, respectively. These inverse relationships remained significant after adjustments for multiple confounders in both genders. CONCLUSIONS: Increased total bilirubin concentrations are associated with the decrease in FRS. Serum total bilirubin may be helpful to decrease the future risk of CAD.

The influence of exogenous fat and water on lumbar spine bone mineral density in healthy volunteers.

PURPOSE: Changes in human body composition can affect the accuracy of spine bone mineral density (BMD) measurements. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether fat and water in the soft tissue of the abdomen influence lumbar spine BMD measurements obtained using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Duplicate BMD measurements were carried out on healthy volunteers (10 men and 10 women) and the Hologic anthropomorphic spine phantom had on the same day before and after placement of following 3 materials in the abdominal area: lard 900 g, 1.5 cm thick; oil 1.4 liters in a vinyl bag; and water 1.2 liters in a vinyl bag. RESULTS: In the case of human participants, following the placement of exogenous water to mimic extracellular fluid (ECF), there was a significant decrease in lumbar spine BMD (-0.012 g/cm², p=0.006), whereas the placement of exogenous lard and oil to mimic abdominal fat produced a slight increase in lumbar spine BMD (0.006 g/cm², p=0.301; 0.008 g/cm², p=0.250, respectively). The average percentage of lumbar spine BMD change with and without exogenous lard, oil, and water showed increase of 0.51%, and 0.67%, and decrease of 1.02%, respectively. Using the phantom, BMD decreased with the placement of both lard (-0.002 g/cm², p=0.699) and water (-0.006 g/cm², p=0.153); however, there was no difference in BMD after oil placement. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that in cases where changes in fat and ECF volume are similar, ECF exerts a greater influence than fat on DXA lumbar BMD measurements.