Dietary guidelines suggest a daily intake of five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, but whether such intakes are associated with a lower risk of hip fracture is unclear, noted Liisa Byberg, PhD, of Uppsala University in Sweden, and colleagues.
To examine the dose-response association between habitual fruit and vegetable intake and hip fracture in a cohort study involving 40,644 men and 34,947 women, aged 45 to 83 years, who were free from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Participants were followed for a mean age of 14.2 years.
Of the patients, 3,644 hip fractures (62% in women) during 1,037,645 person-years were observed. There was a strong nonlinear dose-response association (P<0.001).
Compared with those consuming more than five servings per day, men and women with zero consumption had an 88% higher rate of hip fracture (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.88). With higher intake of fruit and vegetables, the rate was gradually lower (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.35 for one versus five servings per day).
The hazard ratio was no lower for more than five servings per day (adjusted hazard ratio for eight versus five servings per day, 0.96; 95% CI: 0.90-1.03). The results were similar when men and women were analyzed separately.
"There is a dose-response association between fruit and vegetable intake and hip fracture such that an intake below the recommended five servings per day confers higher rates of hip fracture," concluded the researchers. “Intakes above this recommendation do not seem to further lower the risk.”
