Bone Mineral Density and Food-frequency in Korean Adults: The 2008 and 2009 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background: Diet and Nutrition are important modulators of bone health in men and women. We investigated the associations between frequency of food intake among certain food groups and bone mineral density (BMD) in a large population of Korean adults.

Methods: We used the data from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey during 2008 to 2009. Participants were aged 20 years and over. BMDs were measured at lumbar spine and femoral neck with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Dietary and supplement intakes were assessed by food-frequency questionnaire. We used multiple linear regression analysis to evaluate the relationships between annual food-frequency of each food group and BMD.

Results: After adjustment of multiple covariates, femoral neck and lumbar BMD significantly increased as the frequency of fruit consumption increased in both men and women. Frequency of other carbohydrates consumption was significantly associated with greater femoral neck and lumbar BMD for women. Frequency of milk and dairy product consumption was significantly associated with greater femoral neck BMD in men. Other food groups, however, had no significant associations with BMDs.

Conclusion: Frequent consumption of fruit has a positive association with BMDs in men and women. Milk and dairy products and other carbohydrates also had positive effects on BMD for men and women, respectively.