Hair calcium concentration is associated with calcium intake and bone mineral density.

ABSTRACT

Calcium concentration in hair, representing intracellular calcium levels, is associated with systemic diseases such as coronary artery disease. To date, there are no previous studies which investigate the regulation of hair calcium levels. The aim of the study is to investigate whether hair calcium concentration is related to calcium intake and calcium content in bone - bone mineral density (BMD). An observational research study was conducted with 55 women over the age of 20 who visited a university hospital in Suwon, Korea. The average age of the women was 51.45. Depending on the concentration of hair calcium, participants were divided into quartiles to compare calcium intake and BMD. There was no difference in demographic, anthropometric, and biochemical characteristics between the highest quartile of hair calcium concentration and the rest of the quartiles. However, the highest quartile ingested significantly less calcium compared to the rest of the quartiles (p < 0.05). The highest quartile of hair calcium concentration also showed significantly lower BMD and T-score in the L1 - 4 vertebrae compared to the rest of the quartiles (p < 0.05). These results show that high hair calcium concentration was associated with low calcium intake and low BMD.