Fluoride content related to the elemental composition, mineral density and strength of bone in healthy and chronically diseased persons.

The fluoride (F) content of bone was determined and compared to the elemental composition, mineral density and compressive strength in bone specimens from the crista iliac of 88 subjects who had died suddenly, and from 50 subjects who had died as the result of chronic immobilizing diseases. The elemental composition of bone was determined using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer, mineral density using gamma-ray attenuation, compressive strength using a strain transducer, and F content using an ion-selective electrode. The increase of F content with age was not statistically significantly different between the groups. The Ca content of bone decreased more with age in post-menopausal women who had suffered from chronic diseases than in women who had died suddenly. The same was true for the negative correlation coefficient between Ca and F. A similar trend was found for mineral density. This does not support the idea that the F concentration obtained produces any effect that would clearly prevent bone loss in post-menopausal women when compared to those who had died suddenly. In both groups F content was correlated with Zn and Mn; in the sudden-death group Zn concentration explained 12.9% of the F concentration. The relation between Zn and F may be important in the formation and structure of biological apatite.