A new systematic review and meta-analysis undertaken by academics at the University of Larestan in Iran sought to evaluate the association of fish consumption and dietary intake of n-3 PUFAs with hip fractures after previous findings were conflicting.
In total, 10 studies (seven prospective and 3 case-control studies) were included in the systematic review, and nine studies with total sample size of 292,657 participants were included in the meta-analysis.
The age of participants was 20 years or older.
Significant association
They found that combining effect sizes from four prospective studies and two case-control studies revealed a significant inverse association between fish consumption and risk of hip fracture (pooled effect size: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.79-0.98, P = 0.02).
The researchers wrote in the journal Critical Reviews in food Science and Nutrition that a significant inverse association was found in prospective studies with sample size of 10000 individuals or more, and studies that considered body mass index as a covariate.
Furthermore, dietary intake of n-3 PUFAs was inversely associated with risk of hip fracture (pooled effect size: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.80-0.99, P = 0.02).
The same relationship was seen after excluding one case-control study and combining effect sizes only from prospective studies (pooled effect size: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.80-0.98, P = 0.02).
“In conclusion, we found that fish consumption and dietary intake of n-3 PUFAs might have protective effects on bone health and decline the risk of hip fracture,” they added.
Source: Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2017.1405908
"Dietary intake of fish, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of hip fracture: A systematic review and meta-analysis on observational studies."
Authors: Omid Sadeghi, et al.