To Drink or Not to Drink: How Are Alcohol, Caffeine and Past Smoking Related to

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Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 21, No. 6, 536-544 (2002)

Published by the _American College of Nutrition_

(http://www.jacn.org/misc/terms.shtml)

To Drink or Not to Drink: How Are Alcohol, Caffeine and Past Smoking Related

to Bone Mineral Density in Elderly Women?

<NOBR>Jasminka Z. Ilich, PhD, RD, , <NOBR>Rhonda A. Brownbi, , <NOBR>Lisa

Tambori and and <NOBR>Zeljka Crncevi

University of Connecticut, School of Allied Health, Storrs, CT (J.Z.I.,

R.A.B., L.T.)

Clinical Medical Centre, Endocrinology Department, Rijeka, Croatia (Z.C.-O.)

 

Address correspondence to: Jasminka Z. Ilich, PhD, RD,Associate Professor,

University of Connecticut, School of Allied Health, 358 Mansfield Rd., U-101,

Storrs, CT 06269. E-mail: _ernst_

(ernst)

Objectives: To determine relationship between alcohol, caffeine, past

smoking and bone mineral density of different skeletal sites in elderly women,

accounting for other biological and life-style variables.

Methods/Design: A cross-sectional study in 136 Caucasian women, mean ± SD age

68.6 ± 7.1 years, all healthy and free of medications affecting bones,

including estrogen. Bone mineral density (BMD) of multiple skeletal regions and

body composition were measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry. Serum vitamin D

(25-OHD) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were analyzed and used as confounders.

Calcium (Ca) intake was assessed by food frequency questionnaire. Alcohol and

caffeine consumption was assessed by questionnaires determining frequency,

amount and source of each. There were no current smokers, but the history of

smoking was recorded, including number of years and packages smoked/day. Past

physical activity was assessed by Allied Dunbar National Fitness Survey and

used as confounder. Statistical significance was considered at p 0.05.

Results: In the correlational analysis, alcohol was positively associated

with spine BMD (r = 0.197, p = 0.02), 25-OHD and negatively with PTH. Smoking

was

negatively related to Ca intake, 25(OH)D and number of reproductive years. In

subgroup (stratified by Ca intake) and multiple regression analyses, alcohol

(average 0.5–1 drinks/day or 8 g alcohol/day) was favorably associated with

BMD of spine and total body. Caffeine (average 2.5 6-fl oz cups/day or 200–

300 mg caffeine/day) had negative association with most of the skeletal sites,

which was attenuated with higher Ca intake (median, 750 mg/day). The past

smokers who smoked on average 24 years of 1 pack cigarettes/day had lower BMD

in total body, spine and femur than never-smokers when evaluated in subgroup

analyses, and the association was attenuated in participants with median Ca

intake. There was no significant association between past smoking and BMD of

any skeletal site in multiple regression analyses.

Conclusion: The results support the notion that consumption of small/moderate

amount of alcohol is positively, while caffeine and past smoking are

negatively associated with most of the skeletal sites, which might be attenuated

with

Ca intake above 750 mg/day.

Key words: bone mineral density, calcium, alcohol, caffeine, past smoking,

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