Beyond the sun

  While being in sunny Thailand may give the body and advantage in naturally making vitamin D, postmenopausal women with osteoporosis still have to watch out for vitamin D inadequacy, which worsens the thinning of bones.

  Examining over 2500 postmenopausal women aged over 55, a study on the importance of vitamin D in the management of osteoporosis found that low levels of this vitamin are common. Across the 18 countries that took part in the study, approximately 47 percent of Thai participants were found to have vitamin D inadequacy. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of risk factors such as age, dietary intake of vitamin D and calcium, vitamin D supplementation, skin tone and sun exposure on vitamin D adequacy in postmenopausal women.

  Vitamin D is essential to the health of bones due to its role in metabolizing calcium. Low levels of vitamin D may lead to sub-optimal calcium absorption and failure to suppress parathyroid hormone (PTH), which leads to increased bone resorption (the process where bone is removed), a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) and a greater risk of bone fractures.

  “Contrary to a popular belief-that there is sufficient sunlight to allow Thai women to naturally produce sufficient vitamin D from sunlight – the study showed that almost half of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis have vitamin D inadequacy.”

  There is still a surprisingly high number of women who suffer from osteoporosis with vitamin D inadequacy. A key to solving this problem is to improve education about the benefits of vitamin D to people with osteoporosis and make people aware of the sources and availability of the vitamin.

  While the sun is a potent source, dietary sources include fatty fish, fish oils and fortified dairy products. Vitamin D from the diet or the skin is then processed in the liver and kidney and used to optimize calcium and phosphate absorption in the intestine, as well as directly affecting bone cells.

  Taking oral medications that help reduce the activity of the cells that cause bone deterioration is an additional approach in the management of osteoporosis. The medicine decreases the accelerated rate of bone loss that occurs after menopause.

RT.