Unraveling the role of serum metabolites in the relationship between plant-based diets and bone health in community-dwelling older adults

Yi Zheng; Ningxin Gao; Yucan Li; Min Fan; Weizhong Tian; Yanfeng Jiang; Yingzhe Wang; Mei Cui; Chen Suo; Tiejun Zhang; Li Jin; Kelin Xu; Xingdong Chen

doi:10.1016/j.crfs.2024.100687

Unraveling the role of serum metabolites in the relationship between plant-based diets and bone health in community-dwelling older adults

Curr Res Food Sci. 2024 Jan 23:8:100687. doi: 10.1016/j.crfs.2024.100687. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yi Zheng¹, Ningxin Gao², Yucan Li¹, Min Fan³, Weizhong Tian⁴, Yanfeng Jiang^{1

5}, Yingzhe Wang^{1

5}, Mei Cui^{5

6}, Chen Suo^{2

5}, Tiejun Zhang^{2

5}, Li Jin^{1

5}, Kelin Xu^{2

5}, Xingdong Chen^{1

5

7

8}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Zhangjiang Fudan International Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, The Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
³ Taixing Disease Control and Prevention Center, Taizhou, Jiangsu, China.
⁴ Taizhou People's Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University, Taizhou, Jiangsu, China.
⁵ Fudan University Taizhou Institute of Health Sciences, Taizhou, Jiangsu, China.
⁶ Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
⁷ National Clinical Research Center for Aging and Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
⁸ Yiwu Research Institute of Fudan University, Yiwu, Zhejiang, China.

Abstract

The potential adverse effects of the plant-based dietary pattern on bone health have received widespread attention. However, the biological mechanisms underlying the adverse effects of plant-based diets on bone health remain incompletely understood. The objective of this study was to identify potential biomarkers between plant-based diets and bone loss utilizing metabolomic techniques in the Taizhou Imaging Study (TIS) (N = 788). Plant-based diet indexes (overall plant-based diet index (PDI), healthy plant-based diet index (hPDI), and unhealthy plant-based diet index (uPDI)) were calculated using the food frequency questionnaire, and bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. A multinomial logistic regression was used to explore the associations of plant-based diet indexes with bone loss. Furthermore, mediation analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were performed to explore the mediated effects of metabolites on the association of plant-based diets with BMD T-score. Our results showed that higher hPDI and uPDI were positively associated with bone loss. Moreover, nineteen metabolites were significantly associated with BMD T-score, among them, seven metabolites were associated with uPDI. Except for cholesterol esters in VLDL-1, the remaining six metabolites significantly mediated the negative association between uPDI and BMD T-score. Interestingly, we observed that the same six metabolites mediated the positive association between fresh fruit and BMD T-score. Collectively, our results support the deleterious effects of plant-based diets on bone health and discover the potential mediation effect of metabolites on the association of plant-based diets with bone loss. The findings offer valuable insights that could optimize dietary recommendations and interventions, contributing to alleviate the potential adverse effects associated with plant-based diets.

Keywords: Bone mineral density; Mediation effect; Metabolites; Osteoporosis; Plant-based diet index.