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Protein intake and risk of hip fractures in post menopausal women and men over 50 years
Author(s) -
Fung Teresa,
Willett Walter,
Feskanich Diane
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.290.5
Subject(s) - medicine , confounding , hip fracture , relative risk , demography , osteoporosis , confidence interval , sociology
Background The relationship between protein intake and fracture risk is unclear. In addition, few studies have examined the contribution or association of specific protein sources with hip fractures among men. Objective To examine association between intake of total and specific sources of protein and hip fracture risk in postmenopausal women and men over 50 years of age. Methods Data from 74,540 women in the Nurses’ Health Study followed between 1980 and 2012, and 35,451 men from the Health Professionals Follow‐up Study followed between 1986 and 2012 were used for this analysis. Health and lifestyle information, and hip fractures were self reported on biennial questionnaires. Protein was assessed approximately every four years with a food frequency questionnaire. Relative risks (RR) were computed for hip fracture by quintiles of total, animal, dairy, and plant protein intake using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for potential confounders. Results There were 2156 incidents of hip fractures in women and 590 fractures in men. Among women, there was no association between hip fractures and intake of total and animal protein. However, there was a significant inverse trend with dairy protein (RR comparing quintile 5 vs quintile 1=0.89, 95% CI=0.83–1.02, p trend=0.03) and a marginally significant inverse trend with plant protein (RR=0.86, 95% CI=0.72–1.01, p trend=0.05). Among men, we observed a significant inverse association with total (RR=0.72, 95% CI=0.52–0.99, p trend=0.01) and animal protein intake (RR=0.77, 95% CI=0.56–1.07, p trend=0.006), but no association with dairy or plant protein. When total protein intake was categorized in women according to the quintile ranges in men, a significant inverse association appeared (RR for ≥100g vs <70g intake=0.81, 95% CI=0.53–1.23, p trend=0.03). Examination of specific sources including animal flesh, dairy, nuts and legumes did not result in any clear trends of association. Conclusion Higher protein intake was not associated with an increased risk of hip fractures in post menopausal women or men 50 years old or above. On the other hand, higher intake of certain protein sources may be associated with a lower risk of hip fractures. Support or Funding Information NIH grants: CA87969, HL60712, and AG30521