G Model SBMB-4138; No. of Pages 5

ARTICLE IN PRESS Journal of Steroid Biochemistry & Molecular Biology xxx (2014) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jsbmb

Review

Calcium intake and serum calcium status in Mongolian children Tserendolgor Uush ∗ Nutrition Research Division, National Center for Public Health, Ministry of Health 13381, Mongolia

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 20 September 2013 Received in revised form 17 January 2014 Accepted 22 January 2014 Available online xxx Keyword: Calcium intake Total serum calcium Hypocalcemia Hypercalcemia Serum corrected calcium Serum albumin

a b s t r a c t Dietary calcium intake in relation to calcium status in Mongolian children was investigated. This survey was a cross-sectional survey. A total of 835 children were randomly selected from 4 economic regions and Ulaanbaatar city. Information on dietary intake was collected from 835 children in the 1–3, 4–7, and 8–14 year old groups by a 24-h recall method. The average daily intake of calcium from diet was calculated for individuals. Blood samples were collected from 104 children. The mean of daily calcium intakes as 273 ± 30.0 mg in 1–3-year old children, 309.0 ± 30.0 mg in 4–7 year old children, and 317.0 ± 31.0 mg in 8–14 year old children, respectively. There were statistically significant differences in calcium intakes between the age groups 1–3 years, 4–7 years, and 1–3 years, 8–14 years of children (p < 0.001). Calcium intakes in all studied children of all age groups were lower (39%, 30.9%, and 24.4%) than the recommended level of calcium intakes. In 22.1% of studied children, the serum total calcium concentration levels were below the normal range. Based on the total serum calcium, the prevalence of hypocalcemia was higher among children in the age group 8–14 years (27.6%) than the prevalence among children in the age group 1 years Children 1–3 years Children 4–7 years Children 8–14 years

1 3 6 13

7.1% 14.3% 27.3% 27.6%

12 18 15 33

85.7% 85.7% 68.2% 70.2%

1 0 1 1

7.1% 0 4.5% 2.1

14 21 22 47

Total

23

22.1%

78

75.0%

3

2.9%

104

Table 4 Mean level of total serum calcium concentration according to age groups. Subjects by age groups

Mean level of total serum calcium (mmol/l)

Children >1 years Children 1–3 years Children 4–7 years Children 8–14 years

2.43 2.24 2.22 1.99

± ± ± ±

0.59 0.42 0.73 0.79

Std. deviation

Minimum

Maximum

Range

No. of subjects

0.22 0.19 0.34 0.37

1.95 1.93 1.07 1.09

3.00 2.50 2.87 3.00

1.05 0.57 1.80 1.91

14 21 22 47

Table 5 Mean level concentration of serum albumin by age groups in children. Subjects by age groups

Mean of serum albumin (g/l)

Children >1 years Children 1-3 years Children 4–7 years Children 8–14 years

50.30 50.94 48.95 48.48

± ± ± ±

1.92 0.98 1.47 0.91

Std. deviation

Minimum

Maximum

Range

No. of subjects

7.20 4.51 6.91 6.22

35.60 42.10 39.00 36.70

59.30 58.10 59.10 59.60

23.70 16.00 20.10 22.90

14 21 22 47

Table 6 Prevalence of hypocalcemia, normocalcemia and hypercalcemia.

the age groups 2.7 mmol/l)

53 49 2

51.0% 47.1% 1.9%

Table 4 shows that the mean serum calcium concentrations were lower in children in the age group 8–14 years compared to children in the age group