A preliminary assessment of vitamin K1 intakes and serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin levels in 11-13 year old irish girls.

Low vitamin K1 intakes have been associated with low bone mineral density in women and reduced bone turnover in girls. No European data exist on the relationship between vitamin K1 and serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC), an indicator of K1 status in adolescents. The aim of the current study was to assess intakes of vitamin K1 in relation to serum ucOC status in Irish girls. A detailed dietary history method, which measured habitual intakes from a typical 14-day period, was used to estimate vitamin K1 intakes in 18 girls aged 11-13 years. Recently compiled and validated food composition data for vitamin K1 were used to determine vitamin K1 intakes. An enzyme immunoassay was used to measure ucOC in fasting serum samples. The mean (+/- SD) intake of vitamin K1 in the girls was 72.4 microg/day (SD 34.4). Vegetables (particularly broccoli, composite dishes, and lettuce) contributed 53% of total vitamin K1 intakes. Thirty-Seven percent of the girls failed to meet the current U.S. adequate intake for adolescents of 60 microg/day vitamin K1. Serum ucOC levels were inversely related to body weight-adjusted vitamin K1 intakes, controlling for energy intake (partial correlation r = -0.538; p = 0.026). The data indicate that large-scale studies to examine relationships between vitamin K1 (and green vegetable) intakes and bone growth and development in adolescents are warranted.