Dietary Protein Intake in Relation to the Risk of Osteoporosis in Middle-Aged and Older Individuals: A Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition, health & aging Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 252 - 258
• Main Authors: Zhang, Y.-W., Cao, M.-M., Li, Y.-J., Dai, G.-C., Lu, P.-P., Zhang, M., Bai, L.-Y., Chen, X.-X., Shi, L., Zhang, C., Rui, Yun-Feng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Springer Paris 01-03-2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aged; Aging; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Dietary Proteins; Eating; Geriatrics/Gerontology; Health risks; Humans; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle age; Middle Aged; Neurosciences; Nutrition; Nutrition Surveys; Older people; Original Research; Osteoporosis; Osteoporosis - epidemiology; Osteoporosis - etiology; Primary Care Medicine; Proteins; Quality of Life Research; United States > US; Osteoporosis; middle-aged and older individuals; NHANES; dietary protein
• ISSN: 1279-7707; 1760-4788
• DOI: 10.1007/s12603-022-1748-1

Objectives
Dietary protein intake is of great significance for the bone health of middle-aged and elderly people. This study is aimed to explore the relationships between dietary protein intake and the risk of osteoporosis in middle-aged and older individuals among US population.
Methods
Based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), this study includes a total of 20497 participants during 2005–2008, and identify 4707 middle-aged and older people aged 45 years or above. Demographic data and relevant dietary intake information are acquired through in-home management questionnaires. The logistic regression models are established to identify the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of OP in each quartile category of energy-adjusted dietary protein intake. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is applied to explore the optimal cut-off value of daily dietary protein intake for predicting risk of OP.
Results
442 participants with OP are identified among 4707 middle-aged and older people, and the dietary protein intake of OP group is significantly lower than that of non-OP group (P<0.001). The logistic regression analysis shows that with the increase of daily dietary protein intake, the prevalence of OP in each quartile category decreases gradually (P<0.001). This trend is not altered in univariate model (P<0.001), as well as the adjustments for the covariates of age and BMI (Model 1, P<0.001), the covariates of sex (Model 2, P=0.036), the covariates of smoking, drinking alcohol, education, ratio of family income to poverty, hypertension and diabetes (Model 3, P<0.001), and the covariates of dietary intake (Model 4, P=0.008). Moreover, we also identify that the daily dietary protein intake of 61.2g is the optimal cut-off value for predicting risk of OP.
Conclusion
In general, among US population, the lower daily dietary protein intake is positively related to the ascending risk of OP in middle-aged and older individuals.