Spicy food and self-reported fractures

Chuchu Mei; Zhe Fang; Ruoyu Yin; Ruotong Yang; Kun Tang

doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2018.09.027

Spicy food and self-reported fractures

Clin Nutr. 2019 Oct;38(5):2239-2245. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2018.09.027. Epub 2018 Sep 28.

Authors

Chuchu Mei¹, Zhe Fang¹, Ruoyu Yin², Ruotong Yang¹, Kun Tang³

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Centre, 38 Xueyuan Rd, Beijing 100191, China.
² Institute for Medical Humanities, Peking University Health Science Centre, 38 Xueyuan Rd, Beijing 100191, China.
³ Research Center for Public Health, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: tangkun@post.harvard.edu.

PMID: 30316535
DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2018.09.027

Abstract

Background & aims: Population-based evidence that suggests health effects of spicy consumptions on fracture was scant. The study aimed to explore the association of spicy food intake with self-reported history of fractures in the Chinese populations.

Methods: Data was drawn from the baseline survey of a large cohort study conducted in China between 2004 and 2008. A total of 512,891 adults (including 302,632 females) were included. Frequency, strength and duration of spicy food consumption were assessed using a survey questionnaire. Fracture history was self-reported based on physician's diagnoses. Multivariate logistic regression models stratified by socio-economic factors, body mass index and other lifestyle factors were performed adjusting for potential confounders.

Results: The prevalence of daily spicy food intake was 30.32% in males and 29.90% in females. The adjusted odds ratios for fractures were 1.04 (95% CI: 1.01-1.07) for those who ate spicy food occasionally, 1.10 (95% CI: 1.05-1.16) for those who ate one or two days a week, 1.15 (95% CI: 1.09-1.20) for three to five days a week, and 1.12 (95% CI: 1.07-1.17) for daily consumers, compared to participants who never ate spicy food. Participants who ate weak spicy food (OR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.14-1.23), moderate spicy food (OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.06-1.15) and strong spicy food (OR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.12-1.25) were more strongly associated with self-reported history of fracture. In addition, the strengths of associations were consistently stronger with the duration of spicy food exposure. In stratified analyses, the strength of such an association appeared stronger in rural areas (OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.09-1.20) than urban (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.05-1.12). The correlation was consistently stronger in males than in females.

Conclusions: Among Chinese adults, a positive cross-sectional association between the level of spicy food intake and history of fractures was found in both sexes.

Keywords: Bone mineral density; Capsaicin; Fractures; Spicy food intake.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
China / epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diet / statistics & numerical data*
Female
Fractures, Bone / epidemiology*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Socioeconomic Factors
Spices / statistics & numerical data*