Abstract
PurposeAlthough the relationship between body composition and bone mineral density (BMD) is well established, the relative contribution of appendicular lean mass (ALM) and fat mass (FM) to BMD has been rarely evaluated in young men.MethodsWe assessed 100 young men (age: 24.4±2.8 years, BMI: 23.4±2.81 kg/m2). Appendicular lean mass index (ALM/H2) (ALMI), fat mass index (FM/ H2) (FMI), percentage of body fat, BMD at lumbar spine (LS), total hip (TH), femoral neck (FN) and whole body (WB) were measured using DXA. Muscle strength was evaluated by handgrip strength. Pearson’s correlations and interactions between all variables were assessed using stepwise regression analyses.ResultsALM index (ALMI) was positively correlated with BMD at all sites (r = 0.62 for WB p<0.05, r = 0.54 for FN p<0.05, r = 0.64 for TH p<0.05, r = 0.56 for LS p<0.05) whereas FMI was not correlated to BMD values. Stepwise regression analyses showed that ALMI produced a significant and positive influence on BMD (β = 0.07 for WB p<0.001, β = 0.04 for FN p<0.001, β = 0.06 for TH p<0.001). Conversely, FMI was negatively associated with BMD at all sites (β = -0.02 for WB p<0.001, β = - 0.03 for FN p<0.001, β = - 0.03 for TH p<0.001, β = - 0.07 for LS p<0.001). Handgrip strength and BMDs were significantly and positively associated at all sites.ConclusionsOur data suggest that BMD was positively associated with ALMI while negatively with FMI. We confirm that ALMI is the strongest factor associated with BMD in a population of young men.
Highlights
Illustrating muscle-bone [1,2] and fat-bone interactions [3] changes in body composition occur throughout life
appendicular lean mass (ALM) index (ALMI) was positively correlated with Bone Mineral Density (BMD) at all sites (r = 0.62 for whole body (WB) p
Stepwise regression analyses showed that ALMI produced a significant and positive influence on BMD (β = 0.07 for WB p
Summary
Illustrating muscle-bone [1,2] and fat-bone interactions [3] changes in body composition occur throughout life. The relationship between Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and body composition has been widely described in young women, post-menopausal women and in elder women fewer data are available on young men [9,10,11] The findings of these three previous studies reported a significant moderately positive correlation between lean body mass with whole body BMD (WBBMD) but only one study assessed the correlations between specific regional bone sites and body composition parameters in thirty six young men [11]. Muscle mass can be built fairly rapidly, in older individuals this ability is compromised [15] Both bone and muscle tissues are known to share common factors such as metabolic, genetic and hormonal factors including sexual steroids, insulin, IGF-I and GH which play a role in bone fragility and sarcopenia [16]. There is controversy concerning the link between fat mass and BMD, since some studies found a negative association [17] while others reported positive correlations [9,10]
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