Effects of two years' milk supplementation on size-corrected bone mineral density of Chinese girls

Much existing data on the effects of calcium or milk products on bone mineral accretion are based on bone mineral content (BMC) or areal bone mineral density (aBMD), neither of which accounts for changing bone size during the growing period. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 2-year milk supplementation on total body size-corrected BMD in Chinese girls with low habitual dietary calcium intake. Chinese girls aged 10 years were randomised, according to their school, to receive calcium fortified milk (Ca milk), or calcium and vitamin D fortified milk (CaD milk) for two years or act as unsupplemented controls. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry total body bone measures were obtained from 345 girls at baseline and 2 years. Size-corrected total body and regional BMD was calculated as: BMDsc = BMC/BApc, where pc was the regression coefficient of the natural logarithm transformed total body BMC and bone area. After 2 years, both supplemented groups had significantly greater gain in BMDsc of total body (3.5-5.8%, p < 0.05) and legs (3.0-5.9%, p < 0.05) than did the control group. Milk supplementation showed positive effects on bone mineral accretion when accounting for the changing skeletal size during growth. The effects were mainly on the lower limbs.