SynthesisPloS one2018
Animal versus plant protein and adult bone health: A systematic review and meta-analysis from the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Comparing the Effects of Dairy and Soybean on Bone Health in Women: A Food- and Component-Level Network Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of combined protein and exercise interventions on bone health in middle-aged and older adults - A systematic literature review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2025Pooled it
- Isoflavone intervention and its impact on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2024Pooled it
- The skeletal safety of milk-derived proteins: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Protein intake and bone health: an umbrella review of systematic reviews for the evidence-based guideline of the German Nutrition Society.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2023Pooled it
- Dietary protein and bone health across the life-course: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis over 40 years.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2019Pooled it
- Dietary Patterns in Relation to Low Bone Mineral Density and Fracture Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2019Pooled it
- Trial
- The association between a healthy and sustainable diet based on the planetary health diet index (PHDI) and the odds of postmenopausal osteoporosis.European journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Assessment of Dietary Soy Isoflavones Intake Among Women Aged 14 Years and Older in China: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2026Article
- The role of protein quality and amino acid composition in preventing sarcopenia and functional decline in older adults.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Shifting Trend of Protein Consumption in Southeast Asia: Toward Health, Innovation, and Sustainability.Current developments in nutrition · 2024Review
- Association between Processed Meat Protein Consumption and Incident Osteoporosis in Adults Aged 50 Years and Older: A Prospective Cohort Study Based on Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study Data (2005-2020).Korean journal of family medicine · 2024Article
- Risk of Bone Fracture on Vegetarian and Vegan Diets.Current nutrition reports · 2024Review
- Dietary acid load in health and disease.Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology · 2024Review
- Examination of Primary and Secondary Metabolites Associated with a Plant-Based Diet and Their Impact on Human Health.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Bone mineral density and body composition in Australians following plant-based diets vs. regular meat diets.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Associations of healthy eating index-2015 with osteoporosis and low bone mass density in postmenopausal women: a population-based study from NHANES 2007-2018.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Nutritional strategies to optimise musculoskeletal health for fall and fracture prevention: Looking beyond calcium, vitamin D and protein.Bone reports · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundProtein may have both beneficial and detrimental effects on bone health depending on a variety of factors, including protein source.
objectiveThe aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the effects of animal versus plant protein intake on bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC) and select bone biomarkers in healthy adults.
methodsSearches across five databases were conducted through 10/31/16 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort studies in healthy adults that examined the effects of animal versus plant protein intake on 1) total body (TB), total hip (TH), lumbar spine (LS) or femoral neck (FN) BMD or TB BMC for at least one year, or 2) select bone formation and resorption biomarkers for at least six months. Strength of evidence (SOE) was assessed and random effect meta-analyses were performed.
resultsSeven RCTs examining animal vs. isoflavone-rich soy (Soy+) protein intake in 633 healthy peri-menopausal (n = 1) and post-menopausal (n = 6) women were included. Overall risk of bias was medium. Limited SOE suggests no significant difference between Soy+ vs. animal protein on LS, TH, FN and TB BMD, TB BMC, and bone turnover markers BSAP and NTX. Meta-analysis results showed on average, the differences between Soy+ and animal protein groups were close to zero and not significant for BMD outcomes (LS: n = 4, pooled net % change: 0.24%, 95% CI: -0.80%, 1.28%; TB: n = 3, -0.24%, 95% CI: -0.81%, 0.33%; FN: n = 3, 0.13%, 95% CI: -0.94%, 1.21%). All meta-analyses had no statistical heterogeneity.
conclusionsThese results do not support soy protein consumption as more advantageous than animal protein, or vice versa. Future studies are needed examining the effects of different protein sources in different populations on BMD, BMC, and fracture.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.