Cola consumption linked to Osteoporosis in older women

06/Oct/2006: Cola, a sweet carbonated drink containing caffeine, which is very popular among Americans, is found to contribute to lower bone mineral density in older woman, which might lead to Osteoporosis, according to a study conducted by Katherine Tucker, PhD, director of the Epidemiology and Dietary Assessment Program at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, and her colleagues.

Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bone microarchitecture is disrupted, making the bones more susceptible to fracture.

Dr. Tucker and her colleagues analyzed dietary questionnaires and bone mineral density measurements at the spine and three different hip sites of 2,500 people with an average age of 60, in the Framingham Osteoporosis study. They found that cola consumption was associated with lower bone mineral density at all three hip sites in women, regardless of their age, menopausal status, calcium and vitamin D intake and use of cigarettes or alcohol.

However, cola consumption did not affect the bone mineral density of the spine in both men and women. The results were similar for diet and decaffeinated colas; even though their effect on bone mineral density was less severe.

Dr. Tucker, who was the corresponding author of the study, said that the more cola women drank, the lower their bone mineral density was. She added that they did not observe any association between the lower bone mineral density and carbonated drinks that were not colas.

The authors of this study cite that carbonated soft-drink consumption has increased more than 300% between 1960 and 1990. More than 70% carbonated beverages consumed by the participants of the study, were colas, containing phosphoric acid, an ingredient, which is absent in non-carbonated beverages.

Earlier studies had suggested that the link between cola consumption and bone mineral density loss was because, colas replaced milk in the diet, but Dr. Tucker determined through this study that women who drank a lot of cola did not have a lower milk in-take when compared to women who consumed less cola. However, the authors of the study found that calcium intake in both men and women who consumed more cola, was lower than the daily recommended average for the adults.

Dr. Tucker, said that diets low in calcium and high in phosphorous may lead to bone loss in individuals. She added that some studies indicate that the amount of phosphoric acid is negligible in cola, when compared to chicken or cheese, countering the claims on the link between cola consumption and lower bone mineral density.

She wanted more studies to be carried out to establish whether cola drinkers are really putting their health at risk by consuming carbonated drinks containing phosphoric acid.

Dr. Tucker stressed that the findings of this study should be taken with caution, like any other epidemiological study, since the study could not establish why, women who consumed more cola had lesser bone mineral density.

She added that there is no evidence that occasional consumption of cola will harm the bones and women who are concerned about Osteoporosis, should restrain from frequent consumption of cola, until further studies are conducted. The findings of this study were published in the ‘American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’.

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