The Osteogenic Response was higher in Postmenopausal than in Premenopausal Women Following The Same Exercise Intervention

Abstract

Bone loading exercise is an important osteogenic stimulus, and multimodal exercise regimens associated with high bone strains are suggested to improve bone mass. However, it is discussed whether it is possible to induce improvements in bone mass after peak bone mass, especially after menopause. PURPOSE: To investigate the osteogenic impact of high-intensity, multimodal training in postmenopausal women (I-POM) compared to premenopausal women (I-PREM) and two matched control groups (C-POM and C-PREM). METHODS: The supervised intervention lasted 19 weeks, 3 x 30 min weekly. The varied training was of high musculoskeletal intensity aimed to elicit large and powerful forces on the skeleton. 49 healthy, sedentary women participated: I-POM (N=21; 57.1±4.8 yrs; 64.5±8.1 kg), C-POM (N=12; 57.9±3.9 yrs; 63.9±10.6 kg), I-PREM (N=9; 43.6±4.7 yrs; 76.5±15.5 kg), and C-PREM (N=7; 42.9±5.9 yrs; 66.0±12.3 kg). DXA-derived bone mineral density (BMD, g/cm2) in right (R) and left (L) proximal femur (PF) and lumbar spine (LS), plasma Osteocalcin (OC, μg/l), procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP, μg/l) and C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTX-1, μg/l) were measured at baseline and post-intervention. OC, P1NP and CTX-1 were also measured after 3 and 12 weeks. RESULTS: Post-intervention BMD was increased more (0.001<P<0.05) in I-POM than in C-POM in PF (total R 0.8±1.6% vs. -1.0±1.1%; total L 0.7±1.6% vs. -0.5±1.1%; shaft R 0.8±2.1% vs. -0.8±1.6%; shaft L 1.1±1.9% vs. -0.3±1.0%; trochanter R 1.2±2.4% vs -1.1±2.0%; trochanter L 0.8±3.4% vs. -0.3±1.9%) and in LS (L1-L4 0.9±2.3% vs. -1.1±2.8%; L2 1.3±3.1% vs. -1.3±3.2%). Plasma OC was increased more (0.0005<P<0.005) in I-POM than in C-POM after 3 weeks (11.7±20.5% vs. -9.3±19.4%), 12 weeks (23.7±17.6% vs. -11.5±29.0%) and post-intervention (18.0±25.9% vs. -14.8±28.6%), but plasma P1NP and CTX-1 did not differ between the groups. The change scores in BMD, plasma OC, P1NP and CTX-1 did not differ between I-PREM and C-PREM. CONCLUSION: The osteogenic effect of 19 weeks training was higher in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women following the same multimodal high-intensity exercise intervention. It was possible to improve bone mass after menopause and counteract the age-related reduction in BMD.