Psychotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Psychotherapy, including details on psychiatry, psychoanalysis, methods, outcomes.

A randomized clinical trial of dietary calcium to improve bone accretion in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

Stark LJ, Davis AM, Janicke DM, Mackner LM, Hommel KA, Bean JA, Lovell D, Heubi JE, Kalkwarf HJ

Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center/University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, OH 45229, USA. Lori.Stark@chmcc.org

OBJECTIVE: To examine a behavioral intervention (BI) to increase calcium intake in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) on calcium intake and bone mass 6 and 12 months after treatment. STUDY DESIGN: A randomized trial compared a 6-session BI to a 3-session enhanced standard of care (ESC) with 49 children ages 4 to 10 years with JRA. Calcium intake was assessed via 3-day diet diaries. Total body bone mineral content (BMC), arms and legs BMC, and lumbar spine bone mineral density were assessed by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: BI maintained an average calcium intake of 1500 mg/d at 6- and 12-month follow-up. This was greater than their baseline level of 972 mg/d, but not greater than the intake of 1300 mg/day maintained by ESC (P=.09). The BI had a 4% and 2.9% greater gain in total body bone mineral content than ESC at 6 and 12 months, respectively (P=.005), and a 7.1% and 5.3% greater gain in arms and legs BMC at 6 and 12 months than ESC (P=.0007). CONCLUSIONS: BI is effective in increasing calcium intake and BMC in children with JRA over a 12-month period.

Published 1 May 2006 in J Pediatr, 148(4): 501-7.
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