Abstract:

Objective To study the changes of bone mineral density and incidence of osteoporosis in vegetarians.Methods Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to measure the bone mineral densities of spine,neck of femur and greater trochanter in 62 vegetarians(vegetarian group) and  60 normal age-matched men(control group).Results Compared with control group，the bone mineral densities(tms?cm-2) of spine,neck of femur and greater trochanter  in vegetarians were evidently decreased （0.752±0.075  vs  1.014±0.096，0.697±0.071  vs  1.003±0.111，0.713±0.083  vs  1.011±0.097，P<0.001）and the incidences of osteoporosis and osteopenia were increased（40.3%  vs  13.3%，19.3%  vs  5.0%，P<0.001）.Conclusion Vegetarians have  lower bone mineral density and higher incidences of osteoporosis and osteopenia than omnivores.

Key words: bome mineral density, osteoporosis, vegetarian diet