Tag Archives: cohort

Calcium Supplements Associated with Increased Fracture Risk In Women

Abstract

Calcium intake and fracture risk: results from the study of osteoporotic fractures.

The relation between dietary calcium, calcium, and vitamin D supplements and the risk of fractures of the hip (n = 332), ankle (n = 210), proximal humerus (n = 241), wrist (n = 467), and vertebrae (n = 389) was investigated in a cohort study involving 9,704 US white women aged 65 years or older. Baseline assessments took place in 1986-1988 in four US metropolitan areas. Dietary calcium intake was assessed at baseline with a validated food frequency questionnaire. Data on new nonvertebral fractures were collected every 4 months during a mean of 6.6 years of follow-up; identification of new vertebral fractures was based on comparison of baseline and follow-up radiographs of the spine done a mean of 3.7 years apart. Results were adjusted for numerous potential confounders, including weight, physical activity, estrogen use, protein intake, and history of falls, osteoporosis, and fractures. There were no important associations between dietary calcium intake and the risk of any of the fractures studied. Current use of calcium supplements was associated with increased risk of hip (relative risk = 1.5, 95% confidence interval 1.1-2.0) and vertebral (relative risk = 1.4, 95% confidence interval 1.1-1.9) fractures; current use of Tums antacid tablets was associated with increased risk of fractures of the proximal humerus (relative risk = 1.7, 95% confidence interval 1.3-2.4). There was no evidence of a protective effect of vitamin D supplements. Although a true adverse effect of calcium supplements on fracture risk cannot be ruled out, it is more likely that our findings are due to inadequately controlled confounding by indications for use of supplements. In conclusion, this study did not find a substantial beneficial effect of calcium on fracture risk.

Cumming RG, Cummings SR, Nevitt MC, Scott J…
Am. J. Epidemiol. May 1997
PMID: 9149664 | Free Full Text

Silicon Associated with Bone Density in Men and Women

Abstract

Dietary silicon intake is positively associated with bone mineral density in men and premenopausal women of the Framingham Offspring cohort.

The role of dietary silicon in bone health in humans is not known. In a cross-sectional, population-based study (2847 participants), associations between dietary silicon intake and BMD were investigated. Dietary silicon correlated positively and significantly with BMD at all hip sites in men and premenopausal women, but not in postmenopausal women, suggesting that increased silicon intake is associated with increased cortical BMD in these populations.
Osteoporosis is a burgeoning health and economic issue. Agents that promote bone formation are widely sought. Animal and cellular data suggest that the orthosilicate anion (i.e., dietary silicon) is involved in bone formation. The intake of silicon (Si, approximately 30 mg/day) is among the highest for trace elements in humans, but its contribution to bone health is not known.
In a cross-sectional, population-based study, we examined the association between silicon intake and bone mineral density (BMD) in 1251 men and 1596 pre- and postmenopausal women in the Framingham Offspring cohort (age, 30-87 years) at four hip sites and lumbar spine, adjusting for all potential confounding factors known to influence BMD and nutrient intake.
Silicon intake correlated positively with adjusted BMD at four hip sites in men and premenopausal women, but not in postmenopausal women. No significant association was observed at the lumbar spine in any group. Categorical analysis by Si intake, or energy-adjusted Si intake, supported these findings, and showed large differences in BMD (up to 10%) between the highest (> 40 mg Si/day) and lowest (< 14 mg Si/day) quintiles of silicon intake. A significant association at the lumbar spine in men was also observed. Further analyses indicated that some of the effects seen for moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages on BMD might be attributed to Si intake.
These findings suggest that higher dietary silicon intake in men and younger women may have salutary effects on skeletal health, especially cortical bone health, that has not been previously recognized. Confirmation of these results is being sought in a longitudinal study and by assessment of the influence of silicon intake on bone markers in this cohort.

Jugdaohsingh R, Tucker KL, Qiao N, Cupples LA…
J. Bone Miner. Res. Feb 2004
PMID: 14969400

Low to Moderate Alcohol May Protect Bone

Abstract

Alcohol consumption and bone mineral density in elderly women.

Findings regarding alcohol consumption and bone mineral density (BMD) in elderly women have been inconsistent. The objective of the present study was to explore the association of alcohol intake with BMD in elderly women.
This cohort study included women from the population-based Kuopio Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention – Fracture Prevention Study (OSTPRE-FPS). Alcohol intake and potential confounders were assessed at baseline and after 3 years of follow-up using a lifestyle questionnaire. In addition, an FFQ was distributed in the third year to measure dietary intake, including alcohol. Women underwent BMD measurements at the femoral neck and lumbar spine at baseline and after 3 years of follow-up.
Kuopio Province, Finland.
Three hundred elderly women (mean age 67·8 years) who provided both BMD measurements and FFQ data.
Alcohol consumption estimated from the FFQ and lifestyle questionnaire was significantly associated with BMD at both measurement sites after adjustment for potential confounders, including lifestyle and dietary factors (P < 0·05). Using the FFQ, women drinking >3 alcoholic drinks/week had significantly higher BMD than abstainers, 12·0 % at the femoral neck and 9·2 % at the lumbar spine. Results based on the lifestyle questionnaire showed higher BMD values for all alcohol-consuming women at the femoral neck and for women drinking 1-3 alcoholic beverages/week at the lumbar spine, compared with non-users.
The results from OSTPRE-FPS suggest that low to moderate alcohol intake may exert protective effects on bone health in elderly women.

Sommer I, Erkkilä AT, Järvinen R, Mursu J…
Public Health Nutr Apr 2013
PMID: 22800300

Vitamin A Not Associated with Bone Density or Fracture in 2016 Perimenopausal Danish Women

Abstract

No effect of vitamin A intake on bone mineral density and fracture risk in perimenopausal women.

In recent studies from Sweden and the United States, a high vitamin A intake has been associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) and increased fracture risk. In Sweden and the United States, food items such as milk and breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamin A, whereas in Denmark there is no mandatory fortification with vitamin A. In the present study, we investigated relations between vitamin A intake and BMD and fracture risk in a Danish population consuming mostly unfortified food items. Within a population-based cohort study in 2,016 perimenopausal women, associations between BMD and vitamin A intake were assessed at baseline and after 5-year follow-up. Moreover, associations between baseline vitamin A intake and 5-year changes in BMD were studied. Finally, fracture risk was assessed in relation to vitamin A intake. In our cohort, dietary retinol intake (0.53 mg/day) was lower than the intake reported in recent studies form Sweden (0.78 mg/day) and the United States (1.66 mg/day). Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses showed no associations between intake of vitamin A and BMD of the femoral neck or lumbar spine. Neither did BMD differ between those 5% who had the highest, and those 5% who had the lowest, vitamin A intake. During the 5-year study period, 163 subjects sustained a fracture (cases). Compared to 978 controls, logistic regression analyses revealed no difference in vitamin A intake. Thus, in a Danish population, average vitamin A intake is lower than in Sweden and the United States and not associated with detrimental effects on bone.

Rejnmark L, Vestergaard P, Charles P, Hermann AP…
Osteoporos Int Nov 2004
PMID: 15034644

High Cortisol is an Independent Predictor of Fractures in Older People

Abstract

The relation between cortisol excretion and fractures in healthy older people: results from the MacArthur studies-Mac.

In persons with depression, higher urinary cortisol is associated with lower bone mineral density.
To examine the relation between urinary free cortisol (UFC) and fractures.
Community-based samples from Durham, NC, East Boston, MA, and New Haven, CT.
684 men and women, aged 70 to 79 at baseline, who were part of the MacArthur Study of Successful Aging.
Cohort study. Participants with previous history of fractures at baseline were excluded.
The primary exposure variable was overnight (8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.) UFC (microg/g creatinine) at baseline (1988). Outcomes were self-reported hip, arm, spine, wrist, or other fracture during the follow-up period (1988-1995). Covariates were baseline age, gender, race, body mass index, current physical activity, lower extremity strength, depression subscale of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist, and current use of cigarettes and alcohol.
Logistic regression was used to predict the occurrence of incident fractures (1988-1995) as a function of quartiles of baseline UFC. Models were adjusted for age, gender, and race and were also multiply adjusted for the remaining covariates listed above. Gender-stratified models and models that excluded corticosteroid users were also run.
In multiply adjusted models, higher baseline levels of UFC were significantly associated with incident fractures. Odds of fracture (95% Confidence Intervals) for increasing quartiles of baseline UFC, multiply adjusted, were: 2.28 (.91, 5.77); 3.40 (1.33, 8.69); 5.38 (1.68, 17.21). Results were not materially influenced by exclusion of persons using corticosteroids.
Higher baseline UFC is an independent predictor of future fracture.

Greendale GA, Unger JB, Rowe JW, Seeman TE
J Am Geriatr Soc Jul 1999
PMID: 10404922

Protein Associated with Reduced Fractures

Abstract

Effects of meat consumption and vegetarian diet on risk of wrist fracture over 25 years in a cohort of peri- and postmenopausal women.

Evidence suggesting that a diet high in fruits and vegetables may be beneficial to bone health has sparked interest in the potential benefit of a vegetarian diet. However, other studies have raised a question regarding the adequacy of protein in such a diet.
The aim of the present study was to take a whole foods approach in examining the effects of foods high in protein on the risk of wrist fracture (WF) in a cohort with a significant proportion consuming a meat-free diet.
A cohort study of women who completed two lifestyle surveys 25 years apart.
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five peri- and postmenopausal women at the time of the first survey.
There was a significant interaction between meat consumption and foods high in vegetable protein. Among vegetarians, those who consumed the least vegetable protein intake were at highest risk for fracture. However, increasing levels of plant-based high-protein foods decreased WF risk, with a 68% reduction in risk (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.13-0.79) in the highest intake group. Among those with lowest vegetable protein consumption, increasing meat intake decreased the risk of WF, with the highest consumption decreasing risk by 80% (HR = 0.20, 95% CI 0.06-0.66).
The finding that higher consumption frequencies of foods rich in protein were associated with reduced WF supports the importance of adequate protein for bone health. The similarity in risk reduction by vegetable protein foods compared with meat intake suggests that adequate protein intake is attainable in a vegetarian diet.

Thorpe DL, Knutsen SF, Beeson WL, Rajaram S…
Public Health Nutr Jun 2008
PMID: 17686206