Wheat bran fiber supplementation and bone loss among older people

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of wheat bran fiber (WBF) supplementation on bone loss in older people.

Two hundred thirty-seven men and women ages 40 to 80 y were included in this study. They constituted a subgroup of participants from a 3-y WBF intervention trial for preventing recurrence of colorectal adenomas. These participants were randomized into a high (13.5 g/d) or a low (2 g/d) WBF supplementation group. Bone mineral density at the forearm was measured by single photon absorptiometry at baseline and yearly during the intervention to monitor possible toxic effects of fiber supplementation on bone metabolism.

Baseline characteristics of this subgroup of participants from the WBF trial were similar between the high and low supplementation groups. The annual amounts of bone loss at the radial third site were -0.017 +/- 0.018 g/cm2 and -0.013 +/- 0.021 g/cm2, respectively, for the low and high WBF groups; and the annual bone losses at the ultra-distal site were was -0.005 +/- 0.020 g/cm2 and -0.006 +/- 0.027 g/cm2, respectively, for the low and high WBF groups. After controlling for confounding factors, we found no significant differences in bone loss between groups (P > 0.05).

WBF supplementation at the level given in this study may not have a significant effect on bone loss among older people.