The influence of age on the intestinal absorption of 47-Ca absorption in post-menopausal osteoporosis.

The literature is still controversial regarding the intestinal absorption of calcium in osteoporosis, with conflicting reports of decreased absorption (1-4), increased absorption (5-7), and normal absorption (8-10). The apparent discrepancies in these reports may stem from a) the absence of a common isotopic absorption test wherein oral "7Ca doses of uniform specific activity are adminis- tered in the fasting state, b) wide variations in the amount and chemical form of the administered stable calcium carrier, c) inadequate identification of the osteoporotic disease process and its differ- entiation from osteomalacia, d) the lack of suffi- cient age-matched nonosteoporotic controls for comparison, and e) wide variations in dietary cal- cium intakes, which prohibit adequate comparison between individual reports.