Soft drinks, tea and coffee consumption in relation to risk of fracture: evidence from china health and nutrition survey

To investigate the association between soft drinks, tea and coffee consumption, and risk of fracture in the China Health and Nutrition Survey.

A cross-sectional study with multi-stage random cluster sampling was conducted in nine Chinese provinces in 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2011. A total of 36,740 participants were included the data analyses. Self-administered questionnaires and physical examinations provided data on beverages consumption, fracture history, and other potential risk factors. Binary logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusted for potentially confounding variables.

The prevalence of fracture increased over the 7-year period of the surveys, with 1833 (5.3%) participants reporting a fracture history. Soft drink consumption increased over this time period, and tea consumption was relatively stable, whereas coffee consumption tended to increase sharply. Consumers of soft drinks ≥ 3 times/week (versus never) had a higher risk of fracture (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.43–2.32, p < 0.001, p for trend = 0.039). Consumers of tea ≥ 5 cups/day (versus never) also had a higher risk of fracture (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.09–1.45, p = 0.028, p for trend < 0.001). Similarly, consumers of coffee ≥ 2 cups/day (versus never) had a higher risk of fracture (OR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.01–3.34, p = 0.045, p for trend = 0.002). Subgroup analyses by gender suggested that coffee consumption increased risk of fracture in females (OR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.32–2.63, p = 0.001).

Our findings suggest that high consumption of soft drinks, tea and coffee is associated with an increased risk of fracture in the Chinese population. Which has important public health implications given the widespread consumption of these beverages.