Eating Mediterranean Diet Lowers Hip Fracture Risk in Women

Eating a Mediterranean diet full of fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, legumes and whole grains appears to be associated with a lower risk of hip fracture in women, although the actual risk reduction was small, according to a study published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.

Researchers from the University of Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany, examined whether diet quality affects bone health in postmenopausal women. The authors analyzed data from 40 clinical centers throughout the United States, impacting 90,014 women with an average age of almost 64.

Women who scored the highest for adherence to a Mediterranean diet were at lower risk for hip fractures, although the absolute risk reduction was small.

While higher HEI-2010 or DASH scoring tended to be inversely related to the risk of hip fracture (a lower risk), the results were not statistically significant. There was no association between HEI-2010, DASH and total fracture risk. The highest scores for AHEI-2010 were not significantly associated with hip or total fracture risk, according to the results.

“High diet quality characterized by adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk for hip fractures. These results support the notion that following a healthy dietary pattern may play a role in the maintenance of bone health in postmenopausal women,” the authors conclude.