Skip to main content
Evidence-Based Supplement Research
Evidence-Based Supplement Research
Pillser
Search
Sign UpLog In

Vitamin K intake and the risk of fractures: A meta-analysis.

  • 2017-04
  • Medicine 96(17)
    • Guangliang Hao
    • Bei Zhang
    • Mingyong Gu
    • Chen Chen
    • Qiang Zhang
    • Guichun Zhang
    • Xuecheng Cao

Study Design

Type
Meta-Analysis
Sample size
n = 1,114
Population
1114 fractures cases and 80,982 participants
Methods
meta-analysis of cohort or nested case-control studies; comprehensive search of PubMed and EMBASE (to July 11, 2016); random-effects model
The association between dietary vitamin K intake and the risk of fractures is controversial. Therefore we perform a meta-analysis of cohort or nested case-control studies to investigate the relationship between dietary vitamin K intake and the risk of fractures. A comprehensive search of PubMed and EMBASE (to July 11, 2016) was performed to identify cohort or nested case-control studies providing quantitative estimates between dietary vitamin K intake and the risk of fractures. Summary relative risk (RRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled by using a random-effects model. Four cohort studies and one nested case-control study, with a total of 1114 fractures cases and 80,982 participants, were included in our meta-analysis. Vitamin K intake in all included studies refers exclusively to the intake of phylloquinone (vitamin K1), which is the predominant form of vitamin K in foods. We observed a statistically significant inverse association between dietary vitamin K intake and risk of fractures (highest vs. the lowest intake, RR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.56-0.99; I = 59.2%, P for heterogeneity = .04). Dose-response analysis indicated that the pooled RR of fracture for an increase of 50 μg dietary vitamin K intake per day was 0.97 (95% CI: 0.95-0.99) without heterogeneity among studies (I = 25.9%, P for heterogeneity = .25). When stratified by follow-up duration, the RR of fracture for dietary vitamin K intake was 0.76 (95% CI: 0.58-0.93) in studies with more than 10 years of follow-up. Our study suggests that higher dietary vitamin K intake may moderately decrease the risk of fractures.

Research Insights

  • Vitamin K1→Reduced Fracture Risk

    Dose-response analysis indicated that the pooled RR of fracture for an increase of 50 μg dietary vitamin K intake per day was 0.97 (95% CI: 0.95-0.99) without heterogeneity among studies (I = 25.9%, P for heterogeneity = .25).

    Effect
    Beneficial
    Effect size
    Small
    Dose
    50 μg/day increment
Back to top