The Million Women Study assessed 99 dietary factors against hip fracture risk in 541,887 postmenopausal women. Diet was recorded by food frequency questionnaire in 2000-2004 and calibrated against a 24-hour recall, with fractures taken from linked hospital admission records. Over an average of 19.7 years there were 27,318 hip fractures, and 60 of the 99 factors remained associated after multiple testing correction. Of the nutrients, protein showed the strongest association with lower risk, a hazard ratio of 0.79 for each extra 15 g eaten per day. Among foods, each extra 20 g of chicken a day gave a hazard ratio of 0.84, and each extra 50 g of fizzy drinks 1.18. Whether any of these associations are causal is not established, as they may reflect overall diet quality or other differences in lifestyle.
Why it is interesting: Previous work on diet and hip fracture examined selected foods and nutrients; this examines the whole diet in one cohort. It matters to those modelling fracture risk in older women, and to those setting dietary guidance.
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