Dietary carotenoid intake and fracture risk based on NHANES 2013–2018 data: a propensity score matching

Several epidemiological studies have reported inconsistent findings on the association between carotenoid intake and fracture risk. This study aimed to determine the association between individual carotenoid intake and fracture risk. A cross-sectional study based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2013-2018. This study identified elderly individuals with valid and complete data on carotenoid intake and fracture risk. The average dietary intakes of α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, and lutein + zeaxanthin was taken based on the two 24-hour recall interviews. Matching was done based on age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Logistic regression models were used to test the associations between carotenoids and fracture risk. All analyses were performed by using R (version 3.4.3; R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). A total of 5491 (1140 cases and 4351 control) subjects were included in this study. The average age of the subjects was 55.62 ± 14.84 years old. In the adjusted model, the risk of osteoporotic fracture was decreased by 6.2% (odd ratio (OR): 0.938; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.699 to 0.989) and 1.4% (OR 0.986; 95% CI: 0.975 to 0.997) for dietary intake of beta-carotene and lycopene, respectively. Dietary intakes of beta-carotene and lycopene have significantly reduced the risk of osteoporotic fracture among the elderly population in the United States of America.