LOSS OF SKELETAL CALCIUM IN LACTATING WOMEN

Abstract

Summary The calcium changes which occur during lactation have been measured in the lower femoral shaft of ten subjects. Measurements were made by scanning the leg with a photon beam from 241 Am. The results obtained from the scan trace were expressed as a “bone index” which was proportional to the bone in g. per unit length of the femur shaft. Mineral losses varied from subject to subject but the mean for all ten was a loss of 2·2 per cent over 100 days. The changes were of the same order as those which were observed in metabolic balance studies during lactation. The present method provides a valuable means of measuring such small bone mineral changes directly.