Effect of dietary sources of calcium and protein on hip fractures and falls in older adults in residential care: cluster randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE To assess the antifracture efficacy and safety of a nutritional intervention in institutionalised older adults replete in vitamin D but with mean intakes of 600 mg/day calcium and <1 g/kg body weight protein/ day. DESIGN Two year cluster randomised controlled trial. SETTING 60 accredited residential aged care facilities in Australia housing predominantly ambulant residents. PARTICIPANTS 7195 permanent residents (4920 (68%) female; mean age 86.0 (SD 8.2) years). INTERVENTION Facilities were stratified by location and organisation, with 30 facilities randomised to provide residents with additional milk, yoghurt, and cheese that contained 562 (166) mg/day calcium and 12 (6) g/day protein achieving a total intake of 1142 (353) mg calcium/day and 69 (15) g/day protein (1.1 g/kg body weight). The 30 control facilities maintained their usual menus, with residents consuming 700 (247) mg/day calcium and 58 (14) g/day protein (0.9 g/kg body weight). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Group differences in incidence of fractures, falls, and all cause mortality. RESULTS Data from 27 intervention facilities and 29 control facilities were analysed. A total of 324 fractures (135 hip fractures), 4302 falls, and 1974 deaths were observed. The intervention was associated with risk reductions of 33% for all fractures (121 v 203; hazard ratio 0.67, 95% confidence interval 0.48 to 0.93; P=0.02), 46% for hip fractures (42 v 93; 0.54, 0.35 to 0.83; P=0.005), and 11% for falls (1879 v 2423; 0.89, 0.78 to 0.98; P=0.04). The risk reduction for hip fractures and falls achieved significance at five months (P=0.02) and three months (P=0.004), respectively. Mortality was unchanged (900 v 1074; hazard ratio 1.01, 0.43 to 3.08). CONCLUSIONS Improving calcium and protein intakes by using dairy foods is a readily accessible intervention that reduces the risk of falls and fractures commonly occurring in aged care residents. TRIAL REGISTRATION Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12613000228785.

Automated summary

This study aimed to assess the antifracture efficacy and safety of a nutritional intervention in institutionalized older adults with adequate vitamin D levels but low calcium and protein intakes. The intervention group, which received additional dairy foods, showed significant reductions in the incidence of fractures and falls, with no significant impact on all-cause mortality. The results suggest that improving calcium and protein intake through dairy foods is an effective intervention to reduce the risk of falls and fractures in aged care residents.