Association of vitamins with bone mineral density and osteoporosis measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry: a cross-sectional study

We aimed to assess the associations of vitamins intake with osteoporosis based on a national sample from US adults.

A total of 1536 participants were included in this cross-sectional study to investigate the relationship between vitamins intake and osteoporosis from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, including vitamin A, C, D. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between dietary vitamin intake and osteoporosis.

We found that vitamins intake were negatively associated with osteoporosis. For vitamin A, compared with the first tertile, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidential intervals (CIs) were 0.93 (0.81–1.04) for the second tertile and 0.85 (0.78–0.96) for the third tertile (P < 0.01). For vitamin C, compared with the first tertile, the ORs and 95% CIs were 0.89 (0.78–1.05) for the second tertile and 0.79 (0.67–0.93) for the third tertile (P < 0.01). For vitamin D, compared with the first tertile, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidential intervals (CIs) were 0.94 (0.82–1.07) for the second tertile and 0.88 (0.75–0.98) for the third tertile (P < 0.01). And the negative association between vitamins intake and osteoporosis were more evident for female, aged ≥ 60, and BMI > 30, including vitamin A, C and D.

Our findings provide evidence that vitamins intake is linked with decreased prevalence of osteoporosis, including vitamin A, C, D. Further large-scale prospective cohort studies are needed to verify our findings.