A poster presented at The World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis, and Musculoskeletal Diseases, the world’s leading clinical conference on bone, joint, and muscle health, detailed recent research showing that low vitamin K status correlated with increased fracture risk in children.
 
The scientific program, developed by the Committee of Scientific Advisors of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO), brought together the world’s best in the field of musculoskeletal health and disease from April 19-22 in Krakow, Poland. According to IOF and ESCEO, the program’s intention is to “move the field forward on all fronts; from new understanding of bone metabolism and pathology, to new strategies and options in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.”
 
The poster, “Roles of Vitamins D and K, Nutrition, and Lifestyle in Low-Energy Bone Fractures in Children and Young Adults,” was presented to this audience by authors Dr. Michael Karpinski from Medical School in Białystok and Dr. Katarzyna Maresz, president of the International Science and Health Foundation. According to Dr. Maresz, theirs was the only presentation that addressed the bone health benefits of vitamin K.
 
“The main conclusion of our study was the tremendous impact vitamin K has on bone health, in particular how vitamin K2 deficiency seriously affects fracture risks of children,” said Dr. Maresz, whose group created VitaminK2.org. “While many presented studies on vitamin D, ours was the only paper/poster that addressed both vitamins K and D, two complementary nutrients for supporting bone health.
 
“Making these important nutrients part of the conversation with the medical community shows how the potential of future bone therapies could be positively impacted,” added Dr. Maresz.
 
“The implications of vitamin K2 being part of this important conference are immeasurable,” said Dr. Hogne Vik, chief medical officer at NattoPharma. “One of the main hurdles is that there is still no RDI established for vitamin K2. Having K2 discussed at this conference from a bone-health perspective, while the medical community is also initiating studies to examine K2 as a potential cardiovascular therapy, shows we are making strides in overcoming that hurdle.
 
“It also cannot be overstated the importance of every possible opportunity to advance industry and academic understanding of this essential nutrient,” Dr. Vik concluded. “The findings presented by Drs Karpinski and Maresz are so very significant, as they provide supporting evidence to the clinical research NattoPharma has already spearheaded. Not only has our research identified children as a group most deficient in vitamin K2, but that just 45 mcg of K2 (as NattoPharma’s MenaQ7) daily improves K status and increases the activation of osteocalcin, the K-dependent protein responsible for binding calcium to the bone mineral matrix, therefore improving bone health.”