increased intake of dietary folate intake linked to decreased risk of osteoporosis, suggests study

However, the association between dietary folate intake and the risk of osteoporosis in the general population remains incompletely understood. Therefore,the researchers conducted the study that aimed to determine the association between dietary folate intake and the risk of osteoporosis in the general population of the USA. In this cross-sectional study, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017-2020) were collected. Osteoporosis was considered to be indicated by a bone mineral density greater than 2.5 standard deviations below the mean of the young adult reference group. Dietary folate intake was measured by a 24-hour dietary recall. Multivariate logistic regression models and restricted cubic spline models were used. Results: The study included 2297 participants (mean age: 63.69 ± 0.35 years), 49.92% of whom were female. In the general population, increased dietary folate intake was directly associated with a decreased risk of osteoporosis (P for trend = 0.005). In the age > 60 years and female subgroups, folate intake was inversely associated with the risk of osteoporosis (P for trend < 0.001). The dose‒response curve suggested that this association was nonlinear (P for nonlinearity = 0.015).

The cross-sectional study provides initial insights into the inverse association between dietary folate intake and the risk of osteoporosis in the general U.S.

Reference:

Zhou L, Deng W, Wu Q, Pan Y, Huang H. Association between dietary folate intake and the risk of osteoporosis in adults: a cross-sectional study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2024 Jun 22;25(1):487. doi: 10.1186/s12891-024-07605-9. PMID: 38909178; PMCID: PMC11193181