Red meat and bone fractures

Diane Feskanich, Walter Willett, Meir Stampfer, and Graham Colditz; Am J Epidemiol 1996; 143:472-9

Women who eat more than five servings of red meat per week are reported to have 23 percent increased risk of forearm fracture (95% C.I. 1.01-1.5).

The theory here is that dietary protein affects bone loss by increasing endogenous acid production which, in turn, draws calcium from bones to form salts that neutralize the acidity. The results are based on a cohort study of 85,900 women aged 35-59 whose usual dietary intake was measured in 1980 and then updated in 1984 and 1986.

Weak association. A 23 percent increase with a borderline confidence interval? Watch out... gotta check to see how good that data is!


Data collection by survey. Information on dietary intake was collected by questionnaire which means that none of the data were validated. I don't know about you, but can't remember what I had for dinner last week!


Confounding. The authors note that "the propensity to fall" (accident prone or just plain clumsy?) was an unmeasured factor that may have confounded the observed associations. OOPS! What's next? A grant to see whether meat eaters fall down more than vegetarians?

So,... if you eat meat, you better stay in bed, I guess!

Material presented on this home page constitutes opinion of the author.