Dietary Vitamin D Intake, 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 Levels and Premenstrual Syndrome in a College-Aged Population

High dietary intake of vitamin D may reduce the risk of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), perhaps by affecting calcium levels, cyclic sex steroid hormone fluctuations, and/or neurotransmitter function. Only a small number of previous studies have evaluated this relationship and none have focused on young women. We assessed this relationship in a cross-sectional analysis within the UMass Vitamin D Status Study. Between 2006 and 2008, 186 women aged 18-30 (mean age=21.6 years) completed a validated food frequency questionnaire, additional questionnaires to assess menstrual symptoms and other health and lifestyle factors, and provided a fasting blood sample collected during the late luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. Among all study participants, results suggested the possibility of an inverse association between intake of vitamin D from food sources and overall menstrual symptom severity, though were not statistically significant; mean intakes in women reporting menstrual symptom severity of none/minimal, mild, and moderate/severe were 253, 214, and 194 IU/day, respectively (P=0.18). From among all study participants, 44 women meeting standard criteria for PMS and 46 women meeting control criteria were included in additional case-control analyses. In these women, after adjustment for age, body mass index, smoking status and total calcium intake, higher intake of vitamin D from foods was associated with a significant lower prevalence of PMS. Women reporting vitamin D intake from food sources of \u3eor=100 IU/day had a prevalence odds ratio of 0.31 compared to those reporting\u3c100 IU/day (95% confidence interval=0.10-0.98). Late luteal phase 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels were not associated with prevalent PMS. Results from this pilot study suggest that a relationship between vitamin D and PMS is possible, though larger studies are needed to further evaluate this relationship and to investigate whether 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels in the follicular or early luteal phases of the menstrual cycle may be related to PMS risk. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Gender differences in the relationships between lean body mass, fat mass and peak bone mass in young adults

Summary: The relationships between fat mass and bone mass in young adults are unclear. In 1,183 young Australians, lean body mass had a strong positive relationship with total body bone mass in both genders. Fat mass was a positive predictor of total body bone mass in females, with weaker association in males. Introduction: Body weight and lean body mass are established as major determinants of bone mass, but the relationships between fat mass (including visceral fat) and peak bone mass in young adults are unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between bone mass in young adults and three body composition measurements: lean body mass, fat mass and trunk-to-limb fat mass ratio (a surrogate measure of visceral fat).Methods: Study participants were 574 women and 609 men aged 19–22 years from the Raine study. Body composition, total body bone mineral content (TBBMC), bone area and areal bone mineral density (TBBMD) were measured using DXA. Results: In multivariate linear regression models with height, lean body mass, fat mass and trunk-to-limb fat mass ratio as predictor variables, lean mass was uniquely associated with the largest proportion of variance of TBBMC and TBBMD in males (semi-partial R2 0.275 and 0.345, respectively) and TBBMC in females (semi-partial R2 0.183). Fat mass was a more important predictor of TBBMC and TBBMD in females (semi-partial R2 0.126 and 0.039, respectively) than males (semi-partial R2 0.006 and 0.018, respectively). Trunk-to limb fat mass ratio had a weak, negative association with TBBMC and bone area in both genders (semi-partial R2 0.004 to 0.034).Conclusions Lean body mass has strong positive relationship with total body bone mass in both genders. Fat mass may play a positive role in peak bone mass attainment in women but the association was weaker in men; different fat compartments may have different effects