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Severe osteopenia in adolescence: poor bone health for life
Baldan, Alessandro
et al.
2014
Abstract
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass that leads to increased
bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. Lactose intolerance is characterized by abdominal pain and/or
diarrhea following the ingestion of lactose in people with lactase deficiency. The most common therapeutic
approach to lactose intolerance is to exclude dairy products from the diet, which are the main source of calcium.
We studied a group of patients with symptoms attributable to lactose intolerance part of whom was receiving
a lactose-free diet and measured their intake of calcium, bone density and body mass index. We found that
both groups were introducing a lower amount of calcium than recommended, with no difference between a
free-lactose diet and a regular diet. Osteopenia was present in 35% of patients and it was inversely related
to body mass index. Proper nutritional education is necessary in children in order to prevent overweight and
osteopenia. Also the importance of exercise should be reinforced at school, because the peak of bone mass is
obtained during adolescence and it is an essential factor in determining the future risk of osteoporosis and
fractures.
Publisher
EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste
Source
Alessandro Baldan, Sylvie Tagliati, Andrea Brusaferro, Daniela Saccomandi, Cristina Malaventura, Caterina Borgna-Pignatti, Severe osteopenia in adolescence: poor bone health for life, in S. Passamonti, S. Gustincich, T. Lah Turnšek, B. Peterlin, R. Pišot, P. Storici (Eds.), Cross-border Italy-Slovenia biomedical research: are we ready for horizon 2020? Conference proceedings with an analysis of innovation management and knowledge transfer potential for a smart specialization strategy. Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2014, pp. 237-241
Languages
en
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