Summary Vitamin K may affect  bone mineral density and fracture incidence .
Since publication of a previous systematic review the integrity of some of the previous evidence has been question ed and further trials have been published .
Introduction This systematic review was design ed to assess the effectiveness of oral vitamin K supplementation for increasing bone mineral density  and reducing fractures in adults .
Vitamin K2 (menatetrenone) for bone loss in patients with cirrhosis of the liver
OBJECTIVE : Bone loss frequently appears in the natural history of liver disease . The effects of therapy for osteoporosis associated with cirrhosis of the liver are still controversial . We evaluated the effects of vitamin K2 on osteopenia in women with cirrhosis . METHODS : The subjects were 50 women with cirrhosis who had underlying hepatitis viral infections . Half of the patients were r and omly assigned to receive vitamin K2 ( menatetrenone ) .  The bone mineral density ( BMD ) of the lumbar vertebrae was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at entry and at 1-yr intervals for 2 yr . RESULTS : The percentages of change from the initial BMD at 1 and 2 yr after initiation of the study were , respectively , + 0.1 ± 2.6 % and −0.5 ± 3.5 % for the vitamin K2-treated group and −2.2 ± 2.4 % and −4.6 ± 3.9 % for the control group . The changes in BMD at each timepoint differed significantly between the control and treated groups ( p = 0.008 for 1 yr and p = 0.002 for 2 yr ) . In the vitamin K2-treated group , the ratio of osteocalcin to undercarboxylated osteocalcin in those patients with increases in BMD after 1 yr of treatment was significantly lower than that in patients showing decreases in BMD ( p = 0.017 ) . No adverse effects of vitamin K2 were noted . CONCLUSIONS : Vitamin K2 can prevent bone loss and may therefore be useful in the management of bone disease in women with cirrhosis of the liver
Summary Vitamin K may affect  bone mineral density and fracture incidence .
Since publication of a previous systematic review the integrity of some of the previous evidence has been question ed and further trials have been published .
Introduction This systematic review was design ed to assess the effectiveness of oral vitamin K supplementation for increasing bone mineral density  and reducing fractures in adults .