Sclerostin, preadipocyte factor-1 and bone mineral values in eumenorrheic adolescent athletes with different training patterns.

Abstract

The specific aims of the study were to compare possible differences in sclerostin and preadipocyte factor-1 (Pref-1) between rhythmic gymnasts (RG), swimmers (SW) and untrained controls (UC), and to investigate the relationships of sclerostin and Pref-1 with bone mineral characteristics in studied groups. This study included 62 eumenorrheic adolescents (RG = 22; SW = 20; UC = 20). Bone mineral and body composition characteristics were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and sclerostin, Pref-1, osteocalcin and C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTx) were measured. Sclerostin was higher (P = 0.001) in RG (129.35 ± 51.01pg/ml; by 74%) and SW (118.05 ± 40.05pg/ml; by 59%) in comparison with UC (74.32 ± 45.41pg/ml), while no differences (P = 0.896) were seen in Pref-1 (RG: 1.42 ± 0.16ng/ml; SW: 1.41 ± 0.20ng/ml; UC: 1.39 ± 0.26ng/ml) between groups. Osteocalcin (RG: 7.74 ± 4.09ng/ml; SW: 8.05 ± 4.18ng/ml; UC: 7.04 ± 3.92ng/ml; P = 0.843) and CTx (RG: 0.73 ± 0.22ng/ml; SW: 0.64 ± 0.16ng/ml; UC: 0.62 ± 0.20ng/ml; P = 0.173) were not different between groups. Sclerostin correlated (P < 0.05) with whole-body bone mineral content (r = 0.61) and lumbar spine (LS) areal bone mineral density (aBMD) (r = 0.43) in RG, and femoral neck aBMD (r = 0.45) in UC. No correlation was found between sclerostin and bone mineral values in SW, and Pref-1 was not correlated with any bone mineral characteristics in studied groups. Sclerostin was the independent variable that explained 14% of the total variance (R2 × 100) in LS aBMD value only in RG. Adolescent athletes have higher sclerostin compared to UC. Sclerostin was correlated with bone mineral values and predicted areal bone mineral density in RG.