Is a Healthy Diet Also Suitable for the Prevention of Fragility Fractures?

Abstract

Osteoporosis and sarcopenia contribute to the risk of fracture in the population. These conditions share common features, and it is known that a healthy diet may have beneficial effects on both, theoretically resulting in fewer fractures. The present narrative review gives an overview of recent epidemiological research related to the association between healthy diets/dietary patterns, bone health and fragility fractures. The review also gives a brief overview on general dietary recommendations and advice as the cornerstone of public health nutrition. Although muscle health and sarcopenia contribute to the risk of fractures, these endpoints were not the focus of this review. Healthy diets are nutrient dense and contain bioactive components that are needed for the constant remodeling of the skeleton and to slow the rate of bone loss and muscle wasting, thus contributing to the prevention of fragility fractures. Compliance with healthy dietary patterns were predominantly found to be inversely associated with bone outcomes, although this was not entirely consistent across all studies. Different a priori diet scores, such as the Mediterranean diet score and the Dietary Inflammatory Index, as well as a posteriori data driven dietary patterns, such as the prudent or healthy dietary pattern, were inversely associated with fragility fractures in different populations. In conclusion, different healthy dietary patterns may contribute to bone health and less fractures. Following current dietary guidelines is thus advisable for the prevention of fragility fractures.