LEEDS, United Kingdom- New study states that men and women by avoiding meat, may put themselves at a greater risk of serious hip injuries. Scientists from the University of Leeds report that, 50% of men and women who follow a vegetarian diet may experience a hip fracture in comparison to others who consume meat regularly.
Previous reports have shown that, women who follow a vegetarian diet have experienced a higher risk of hip fracture, but the exact reason for this trend have remained unclear. In the meantime, projects which are concentrating on the impact of a vegetarian diet on men have mostly been small in scale and produced unsatisfying findings.
So, the team investigated a dataset encompassing over 413,914 individuals (both men and women). The resulting insights provide the first indication that vegetarian men also face a higher risk of hip fracture than men who consume meat regularly. Some specific factors have been recognized, regardless of gender that vegetarians are at a high risk of hip fractures.
Study participants were originally employed within so many years (in conjunction with the UK Biobank project) and provided details on their dieting information. Using these facts, the team, groups individuals into many cohorts: during a week, a regular meat eater who consumes meat five or more times, an irregular meat eater who consumes meat less than five times per week, pescatarians consuming fish but not meat, or vegetarians consuming dairy foods but not meat or fish.
Data for each individual was connected with their hospital records. Among 413,914 study participants, there were 3,503 hip fractures, accounting for a total incidence rate of less than one percent (0.8). while the overall risk of suffering a hip fracture was low, the relative risk between vegetarians and regular meat consumers was quite high.
According to the study authors report vegetarians had a 50% higher risk than regular meat-eaters, regardless of sex and there was no difference in risk between occasional and regular meat-eaters.
James Webster, a doctoral researcher in the school of Food Science and Nutrition says, in an aging society hip fractures are a growing problem which can trigger debilitating health conditions and a poor quality of life.
Professor Janet Cade, who leads the Nutritional Epidemiology Group at the University of Leeds says that, hip fracture is a major health issue and diet may have a part to play in affecting risk.
This research, using the large UK Biobank, confirms our previous work, which proves that a vegetarian diet increases risk of hip fracture compared to regular meat eaters in both men and women. Though vegetarian diets have health benefits, understanding diet quality and the balance of key nutrients may help to reduce risk and improve future bone health.
