Calcium/phosphate/vitamin D homeostasis and bone mass in patients after gastrectomy, vagotomy, and cholecystectomy

Sixty‐two outpatients were assessed and divided into the following groups: 20 patients who had had partial gastrectomy (PG group), 22 patients who had had truncal vagotomy and pyloroplasty (TV group) or high selective vagotomy (HSV group), and 20 patients who had had cholecystectomy (CH group). The patients' age ranged from 35 to 64 years (mean 45 years), and the average postoperative period was 9 years. None of the patients evidenced clinical or biochemical symptoms of malnutrition or malabsorption or of diseases affecting vitamin D metabolism. The function of the kidneys and the liver was normal. An age‐matched group of volunteers served as a control group. The calcium dietary intake was determined using a standardized questionnaire; and the levels of serum calcium (Cas), phosphate (Ps), alkaline phosphatase (AP), and 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and the excretion of Ca in a sample of fasting urine corrected for concurrent creatine excretion (FuCa/cr) were assessed by means of standard laboratory techniques. The bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine (L2–4) and femoral neck (neck‐L) was determined by means of dual energy x‐ray absorptiometry (DXA). The daily Ca dietary intake was lower than recommended (RDA) in 80% of the patients, with most of them ingesting less than 300 mg daily. The mean values of Ca2, P2, AP, and FuCa/cr did not differ from these in the controls. Significantly reduced 25(OH) D levels were observed in the PG group (7.0 ng/ml) (p