The Effect of a Whey Protein Supplement on Bone Mass in Older Caucasian Adults.

Study answer

What this study found

Whey protein did not improve bone mineral density at the lumbar spine or other skeletal sites over 18 months. In the DXA completer subset, femoral neck BMD differed at 9 months (-1.31 ± 0.43 vs 0.14 ± 0.43; between-group difference -1.5 ± 0.6%, P = .019), but this was not sustained at 18 months. The intervention helped preserve fat-free mass, with truncal lean mass significantly higher at 18 months (p = 0.048) and total lean mass trending higher (P = .069). Renal function was not adversely affected: eGFR was unchanged at 18 months, although urinary urea remained higher and IGF-1, CTX, and…

Study & population

Randomized, controlled, two-center trial in healthy older Caucasian men and women from Connecticut.

Intervention

Participants in the active arm were asked to incorporate 45 g/day of whey protein isolate (40 g protein; Pro-von 290) into their usual diet for 18 months.

Key limitation

Attrition and completer-based secondary analyses reduce confidence in some findings, with only 61 protein-arm participants completing 18 months.

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Original abstract