title: B-vitamins and bone health--a review of the current evidence.
abstract: Because of ongoing global ageing, there is a rapid worldwide increase in incidence of osteoporotic fractures and the resultant morbidity and mortality associated with these fractures are expected to create a substantial economic burden. Dietary modification is one effective approach for prevention of osteoporosis in the general population. Recently, B vitamins have been investigated for their possible roles in bone health in human studies. In this review, we provide different lines of evidence and potential mechanisms of individual B vitamin in influencing bone structure, bone quality, bone mass and fracture risk from published peer-reviewed articles. These data support a possible protective role of B vitamins, particularly, B2, B6, folate and B12, in bone health. However, results from the clinical trials have not been promising in supporting the efficacy of B vitamin supplementation in fracture reduction. Future research should continue to investigate the underlying mechanistic pathways and consider interventional studies using dietary regimens with vitamin B enriched foods to avoid potential adverse effects of high-dose vitamin B supplementation. In addition, observational and interventional studies conducted in Asia are limited and thus require more attention due to a steep rise of osteoporosis and hip fracture incidence projected in this part of the world.
authors.affiliation: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore, Block MD1, 12 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117549, Singapore. zhaoli_dai@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Zhaoli
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Office of Clinical Sciences, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore, Singapore, 8 College Road Level 4, Singapore 169857, Singapore. woonpuay.koh@duke-nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Woon-Puay
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Koh
mesh_terms: D015519:Bone Density; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D058866:Osteoporotic Fractures / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014803:Vitamin B Complex / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D014803:Vitamin B Complex