Exploratory study of dietary intake and prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in women ≥ 65 years old living in their family home or in public homes of Buenos Aires city, Argentina

Both nutritional status and social-environmental factors influence elderly's health and quality of life. An inadequate intake of protein, calcium and vitamin D affects bone health. 1) To assess energy, protein, calcium and vitamin D intake in women ≥65 year of age (y); 2) To assess the contribution of residence place: family home (FH) o Public Homes (PH); 3) To evaluate the relationship between the dietary intake and the biochemical parameters. Forty-four ambulatory and clinically healthy women with (X ± SD) 75 ± 7 y and a body mass index 28 ± 4 kg/m². 1) Food frequency, sunlight exposure and socioeconomic status questionnaires; 2) Laboratory: Serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), crosslaps (CTX), calcium (sCa), phosphate, bone alkaline phosphatase and urine calcium/creatinine ratio (uCa/ UCr) in 2-hour urine samples. The total group showed intakes lower than the dietary reference intake, except regarding protein intake, with higher deficit in the PH group. The 88% showed vitamin D deficit (25OHD < 20 ng/ml). A positive correlation between 25OHD and vitamin D intake (r = 0.46; p < 0.007) and a negative correlation between 25OHD and CTX (r = -0.51; p < 0.03) in those subjects with 25OHD < 15 ng/ml. The levels of 25OHD, sCa and uCa/uCr were higher in the HF than in PH. Both the vitamin D deficiency and the inadequate intake of calcium and vitamin D might have deleterious bone health consequences. Nutritional educational programmes and vitamin D supplementation would be required for this specific age group, especially for high risk groups such as PH.