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Assessing the Muscle–Bone Unit in Girls Exposed to Different Amounts of Impact-Loading Physical Activity—A Cross-Sectional Association Study

Authors :
Valentina Cavedon
Marco Sandri
Carlo Zancanaro
Chiara Milanese
Source :
Children, Vol 11, Iss 9, p 1099 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: In children, an association exists between muscle and bone, as well as between physical activity and osteogenesis. Impact loading is a factor in increasing bone accrual during growth. In this work, we explored the muscle–bone association in girls exposed to long-term physical activity at different levels of impact loading. Methods: Four groups of girls aged 7–16 were considered. The curricular (C; n = 22) group only had curricular physical activity at school (2 h/w). In addition to curricular physical activity, the girls in the dance (D; n = 21), gymnastics at lower training (GL; n = 14), and gymnastics at higher training (GH; n = 20) groups had 2 h/w, 4 h/w, and 4 h/w < training ≤ 12 h/w additional physical activity, respectively, for at least one year. A visual analysis estimated the respective amounts of impact-loading activity. The bone mineral content (BMC), areal bone mineral density (aBMD), and fat-free soft tissue mass (FFSTM) were assessed with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: The results showed that, after adjusting for several confounders, statistically significant correlations were present between muscle mass and several bone mineral variables. A regression analysis confirmed the correlation in the data, and showed the marginal role of other body composition variables and physical activity for predicting BMC and BMD. Conclusion: Skeletal muscle mass is a major determinant of the BMC and BMD of the TBLH, as well as of the Appendicular level, in girls exposed to different amounts of long-term impact-loading physical activity.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
22279067
Volume :
11
Issue :
9
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Children
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.85b6d07070d84415b13a80f65845c7a5
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/children11091099