Study Examines the Effects of Inflammatory Diet on Risk of Bone Mineral Density Loss

A more inflammatory diet is associated with bone mineral density loss, according to a recent study.

Prior studies have suggested that high inflammatory milieu is associated with bone loss and fracture risk, and that the risk could be modifiable by diet.
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In their study, researchers examined 160,191 women who did not have a history of hip fractures, and participated in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study and Clinical Trial. The mean age of participants was 63 years.

Participants completed food frequency questionnaires, and the dietary inflammatory index (DII) was used to measure the inflammatory potential of the diet. Researchers evaluated changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and DII scores, and risk for hip, lower arm, and total fracture were assessed. Fractures were reported annually, and hip fractures were confirmed with medical records.

Multi-variable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios for fractures, and were stratified by age and race/ethnicity.

Their findings showed that the mean DII score improved significantly over 3 years, but was not  associated with fracture risk.

However, the baseline DII score for younger white women (under 63 years old) was associated with hip fracture risk. Researchers did not find an association between baseline DII scores and hip fracture risk in white women older than 63, or other races/ethnicities.

“Women with the least inflammatory DII scores had less loss of hip BMD (p = 0.01) by year 6, despite lower baseline hip BMD, versus women with the most inflammatory DII scores,” the researchers wrote.

“In conclusion, a less inflammatory dietary pattern was associated with less BMD loss in postmenopausal women. A more inflammatory diet was associated with increased hip fracture risk only in White women younger than 63 years.”

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Orchard T, Yildiz V, Steck S, et al. Dietary inflammatory index, bone mineral density and risk of fracture in postmenopausal women: results from women’s health initiative [published online December 26, 2016]. J Bone Miner Res. doi:10.1002/jbmr.3070.