Dietary flavonoid intake is associated with bone mineral density in early postmenopausal Scottish women

A. C. Hardcastle, J. Kyle, G. G. Duthie, G. McNeill, D. M. Reid, H. M. MacDonald

Research output: Contribution to journalAbstractpeer-review

Abstract

Flavonoids are bioactive polyphenols that are ubiquitously found in
plants and are an integral part of the human diet. Little is known
about the role of flavonoids on bone health in humans although
flavonoids reduce osteoclast action in cellular models and less bone
loss was observed in ovariectomised mice treated with hesperidin
(Chiba et al 2003). The aim of the study is to investigate whether
dietary flavonoids affect bone mineral density (BMD) in a group of
Scottish postmenopausal women.
The subjects were women (mean age ±SD, 54.7 ± 2.2 y) that had been
recruited in 1990-3 for the Aberdeen Prospective Osteoporosis
Screening Study, the majority of whom returned 6.3 ± 0.6 y later. A
total of 898 subjects had bone scans (Norland XR6.2/6.3 DXA
scanner) and filled in a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) at both
visits. This FFQ has been 'validated' for use with flavonoids using 4-d
food diaries. The diets were analysed for flavonoid intake using a
food composition database developed at the Rowett Research Institute
(Kyle et al. 2002). The flavonoid contents of items that were in our
FFQ but not in the Rowett database (e.g. swede) were obtained from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture database.
The flavonoid intakes of the diet (mean ±SD) had increased by 6%
from 161 (±86) to 170 (±86) mg/d (p<0.001). BMD at the lumbar
spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) had decreased by 6% (p<0.001).
Positive correlations were seen between flavonoid intakes and BMD
at both sites and both visits, which were significant after adjustment
for confounders (age, height, weight, menopausal status and HRT
use) at baseline only (r=0.11, p<0.01 FN, r=0.07 p=0.03 LS). Using 1-
way ANOVA, women in the highest quartile (Q4) of flavonoid intakes
had significantly greater FN BMD at baseline than those in the
lowest quartile, Q1 (FN BMD: Q4 0.90± 0.13g/cm2, Q1 0.87± 0.12
g/cm2, P=0.02). Future work will involve examining separate
categories of flavonoids in relation to bone health.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1121-1122
Number of pages2
JournalJournal of Bone and Mineral Research
Volume22
Issue number7
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2007
EventBone Research Society Annual Meeting 2007 - Aberdeen , United Kingdom
Duration: 3 Jul 20075 Jul 2007
https://boneresearchsociety.org/meeting/brs2007/

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