Smoking, dietary calcium and vitamin D deficiency in women: a population-based study

To determine differences in dietary calcium and vitamin D intakes between female never, former and current smokers.

Population-based survey using a validated food frequency questionnaire.

The Bus Santé 2000, epidemiologic observatory of Geneva, Switzerland.

2319 women resident in Geneva, Switzerland between 1993 and 1997.

Daily calcium intake was 798 mg among current heavy smokers (>/=20 cigarettes/day), 882 mg among current moderate smokers (1-19 cigarettes/day) and 945 mg among never smokers (P=0.0001). There was a difference of almost 50 mg/day in median calcium intake from cheese (P=0.04), which corresponded to about one-third of the total difference in calcium intake between heavy smokers and never smokers. Of the current heavy smokers, 21% did not eat yogurt compared to 10% of never smokers (P=0.001). Among yogurt eaters, heavy smokers consumed 90 mg/day of calcium from yogurt vs 115 mg/day in never smokers (P=0.003). Smokers ate more butter and cream (P=0.02) or milk (P=0.06) than never smokers, but these were minor sources of calcium. Fish was the main cause of higher intake of vitamin D in never smokers (0.81 microg/day) compared with heavy smokers (0.53 microg/day) and moderate smokers (0.70 microg/day). The diet of ex-smokers after 5 y or more of smoking cessation tended to resemble that of never smokers for calcium (about 900 mg/day) and vitamin D (about 2.55 microg/day).

Female current smokers have lower dietary intakes of calcium and vitamin D than never smokers.

This study was funded by the Swiss National Fund for Scientific Research (grants 32.31.326.91, 32-37986.93 and 32-49847.96).