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ORIGINAL ARTICLES EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINICAL MEDICINE
The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2016 September;56(9):1047-59
Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA
language: English
Fitness and bone density in women: the role of age, weight, calcium, vitamin D, and menopause
Brady M. HANSEN 1, Larry A. TUCKER 2 ✉
1 Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Weber State University, Ogden, UT, USA; 2 Department of Exercise Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between manifold measures of fitness and bone mineral density (BMD) of the hip and spine in 233 middle-aged women. An additional objective was to determine the effect of several potential confounding variables, including age, body weight, calcium consumption, vitamin D intake, and menopause status on the relationships between fitness and BMD.
METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used. Fitness was indexed using multiple variables: bench press, sit-ups, best jump, VO2max, and total fitness. Total fitness was indexed using the mean Z-score of the other fitness tests. Hip and spine BMD were assessed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.
RESULTS: The associations between hip BMD and bench press (F=5.3, P=0.0219), sit-up (F=7.5, P=0.0065), best jump (F=11.6, P=0.0008), VO2max (F=9.3, P=0.0025), and Total Fitness (F=16.1, P≤0.0001) were statistically significant. Relationships between spine BMD and four of the dimensions of fitness were significant: bench press (F=9.4, P=0.0025), sit-up (F=11.7, P=0.0007), best jump (F=6.9, P=0.0093), and the composite fitness score (F=13.4, P=0.0003). VO2max was not predictive of spine BMD (F=2.0, P=0.1610). Age had the strongest confounding effect on the hip BMD associations, whereas menopause status had the strongest influence on the spine BMD relationships.
CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, findings suggest that objectively measured fitness is a strong predictor of differences in BMD of the hip and spine in middle-aged women, before and after adjusting for differences in several potential confounding variables.