Postmenopausal women who eat Mediterranean diet less likely to suffer from hip fractures, says study

A new study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, has found that bones could benefit from a Mediterranean diet.

In the study, researchers examined whether diet quality affects bone health in postmenopausal women and found that women who ate this healthy diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts beans, peas, unrefined grains, olive oil and fish, were slightly less likely to suffer from hip fractures.

For the study, researchers analysed data from 40 clinical centres in the US, including in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study. The analysis included 90,014 women with an average age of 64. As part of the study, women had to describe their diets in the WHI food frequency questionnaire at the start of the study. Researchers then compared their dietary patterns to four common health diets, including the Mediterranean diet.

Sixteen years later, the researchers found that there were 2,121 cases of hip fractures and 28,718 cases of total fractures. However, women who had adhered most frequently to the Mediterranean diet were 0.29% less likely to suffer from a hip fracture than women who didn’t stick to the diet. The study found that the other three diets that were used as part of the comparison, showed negligible success.

“Our results provide assurance that widely recommended eating patterns do not increase the risk of fractures,” says lead study author Dr. Bernhard Haring of the University of Wurzburg in Germany. “This being said, the average woman should follow a healthy lifestyle which includes adopting a healthy dietary pattern and being physically active.”

Dr Haring went on to say that osteoporosis-related fractures are a major burden for health care systems in ageing societies, with women particularly affected and the results of the study suggest that a healthy diet, specifically a Mediterranean diet, might play a small role in maintaining bone health in postmenopausal women.

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