Association between serum polyunsaturated fatty acids and bone mineral density in US adults: NHANES 2011-2014

Hao Liang; Chuang Xiong; Yuangang Luo; Jun Zhang; Yanran Huang; Runhan Zhao; Nian Zhou; Zenghui Zhao; Xiaoji Luo

doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1266329

Association between serum polyunsaturated fatty acids and bone mineral density in US adults: NHANES 2011-2014

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Nov 16:14:1266329. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1266329. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hao Liang^#^{1

2}, Chuang Xiong^#³, Yuangang Luo⁴, Jun Zhang^{1

2}, Yanran Huang^{1

2}, Runhan Zhao^{1

2}, Nian Zhou^{1

2}, Zenghui Zhao^{1

2}, Xiaoji Luo^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
² Orthopedic Laboratory of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
³ Department of Bone and Soft Tissue Oncology, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, China.
⁴ Department of Orthopedics, Qianjiang Central Hospital of Chongqing, Qianjiang, Chongqing, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between serum polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and bone mineral density (BMD).

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2014. The weighted multiple linear regression model was utilized to determine the association between serum PUFAs and BMD. Further smoothed curve fitting and threshold effect analysis were conducted. Finally, we performed a subgroup analysis.

Results: In total, 1979 participants aged 20-59 years were enrolled. After adjusting for all covariates, we found that serum docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) was positively associated with head BMD (β = 0.0015, 95% Cl: 0.0004, 0.0026, P = 0.008296) and lumbar spine BMD (β = 0.0005, 95% Cl: 0.0000, 0.0010, P = 0.036093), and serum eicosadienoic acid (EDA) was negatively associated with thoracic spine BMD (β = -0.0008, 95% Cl: -0.0016, -0.0000, P = 0.045355). Smoothed curve fitting revealed a nonlinear positive association between serum DPA and lumbar spine BMD. Threshold effect analysis indicated that the threshold of serum DPA was 81.4 µmol/L. Subgroup analysis revealed a positive correlation between serum DPA and head BMD in the subgroup aged 50-59 years (β = 0.0025, 95% Cl: 0.0002, 0.0049, P = 0.035249) and females (β = 0.0026, 95% Cl: 0.0008, 0.0044, P = 0.005005). There was a positive relationship between serum DPA and lumbar spine BMD in females (β = 0.0008, 95% Cl: 0.0001, 0.0015, P = 0.017900) and a negative association between serum EDA and thoracic spine BMD in the subgroup aged 30-39 years (β = -0.0016, 95% Cl: -0.0031, -0.0001, P = 0.041331), males (β = -0.0012, 95% Cl: -0.0023, -0.0001, P = 0.039364) and other races (β = -0.0021, 95% Cl: -0.0037, -0.0006, P = 0.008059).

Conclusion: This study demonstrated a linear positive relationship between serum DPA and head BMD, a nonlinear positive association between serum DPA and lumbar spine BMD, and a linear negative correlation between serum EDA and thoracic spine BMD in US adults.

Keywords: NHANES; bone mineral density; docosapentaenoic acid (DPA); eicosadienoic acid (EDA); polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Absorptiometry, Photon
Adult
Bone Density*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Fatty Acids, Unsaturated*
Female
Humans
Lumbar Vertebrae / diagnostic imaging
Male
Nutrition Surveys

Substances

Fatty Acids, Unsaturated

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Program for Youth Innovation in Future Medicine of Chongqing Medical University (Nos. W0086), Chongqing Technical Innovation and Application Development Special Project (CSTB2021TIAD-KPX0060), and the Chongqing Talent Plan for Innovative Leading talents (CQYC20210303373).