Greater fruit and vegetable intake is associated with increased bone mass among postmenopausal Chinese women

Although studies in Caucasian populations have reported the beneficial effects of intakes of fruit and vegetables on bone mass, limited data are available in the Asian populations. We examined the association of the intake of fruits and vegetables with bone mineral density (BMD) in a population-based cross-sectional study of 670 postmenopausal Chinese women aged 48-63 years. Habitual dietary intakes were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. BMD at the whole body, lumbar spine and left hip were measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Univariate regression analyses showed that the total intake of fruits and vegetables was significantly associated with greater BMD at the whole body, lumbar spine (L1-L4), total hip, trochanter and intertrochanter. An independently positive association between fruit and vegetable intake and BMD at the whole body (P=0.005), lumbar spine (P < 0.001) and total hip (P=0.024) remained even after adjusting for age, years since menopause, body weight and height, dietary energy, protein and Ca, and physical activities. A daily increase of 100 g fruit and vegetable intake was associated with 0.0062 (95% CI 0.0019, 0.0105) g/cm(2), 0.0098 (95% CI 0.0041, 0.0155) g/cm(2) and 0.0060 (95% CI 0.0011, 0.0109) g/cm(2) increases in BMD at the whole body, lumbar spine and total hip, respectively. In conclusion, greater fruit and vegetable intake is independently associated with better BMD among postmenopausal Chinese women.