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Nursing research is expected to provide options for the primary prevention of disease and health promotion, regardless of pathology or disease. Nurses have the skills to develop and lead research that addresses the relationship between genetic factors and health. Increasing genetic knowledge and research capacity through interdisciplinary cooperation as well as the development of research resources, will accelerate the rate at which nurses contribute to the knowledge about genetics and health. There are currently different fields in which knowledge can be expanded by research developed from the nursing field. Here, we present an emerging field of research in which it is hypothesized that genetics may affect bone metabolism. Better insight of genetic factors that are contributing to metabolic bone diseases would allow for focused nursing care and preventive interventions., Junta de Extremadura/FEDER, Depto. de Odontología Conservadora y Prótesis, Fac. de Odontología, TRUE, pub

The bone is one of the relevant target organs of heavy metals, and heavy metal toxicity is associated with several degenerative processes, such osteoporosis and bone mineral alterations, that could lead to fractures. We aimed to study a presumed relationship between bone density, evaluated by quantitative bone ultrasound (QUS), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) and the dietary intake of cadmium, lead and mercury in healthy premenopausal women. A total of 158 healthy, non-smoking, premenopausal women were incorporated into the study. A validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was administered to assess intake during the preceding seven days. The median predicted dietary cadmium intake among the 158 women studied was 25.29 µg/day (18.62–35.00) and 2.74 µg/kg body weight/week (b.w./w) (1.92–3.83). Dietary lead intake was 43.85 µg/day (35.09–51.45) and 4.82 µg/kg b.w./w (3.67–6.13). The observed dietary mercury intake was 9.55 µg/day (7.18–13.57) and 1.02 µg/kg b.w./w (0.71–1.48). Comparisons, in terms of heavy metal intake, showed no significant results after further adjusting for energy intake. No statistically significant correlations between heavy metal intake and the QUS, DXA and pQCT parameters were observed. Levels of dietary exposure of cadmium, lead and mercury were mostly within the recommendations. We did not find associations between the QUS, DXA and pQCT parameters and the dietary intake of the studied heavy metals in healthy premenopausal women., Junta de Extremadura, Depto. de Odontología Conservadora y Prótesis, Fac. de Odontología, TRUE, pub