Sociodemographic factors associated with calcium intake in premenopausal women: a cross-sectional study

Objective: To describe associations between sociodemographic factors and calcium intake in premenopausal women. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Population-based. Subjects: A total of 467 randomly selected, predominantly Caucasian Tasmanian women aged 25-44 y, response rate 63%. Main outcome measures: Calcium intake, sociodemographic factors, anthropometrics, osteoporosis knowledge and self-efficacy. Results: Education level, calcium-specific osteoporosis knowledge and self-efficacy were all independently associated with calcium intake (P < 0.05). The odds of achieving the recommended dietary intake for calcium increased with higher levels of calcium-specific self-efficacy and knowledge, and decreased in smokers or if the household's main financial provider was unemployed (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Women who have lower levels of education, who are in households where the main financial provider is unemployed, who are smokers, and those with low levels of calcium-specific self-efficacy and knowledge are at risk of not achieving adequate calcium intake. This information will assist targeting of public health strategies aimed at improving the calcium intake of premenopausal women. © 2005 Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved.