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Higher cardiorespiratory fitness is linked with greater bone strength in older men—particularly in the tibia and radius—while no such association is observed in older women.
A study issued in "Osteoporosis International" revealed that older men with higher cardiorespiratory fitness have stronger bones, offering fresh insights into age-related fracture prevention. However, the same was not observed in women, pointing to potential sex-specific differences in how fitness influences bone health.
The study, conducted as part of the Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA), incorporated 123 men (average age 76.2 ± 4.4 years) and 188 women (average age 76.1 ± 4.7 years). Researchers used treadmill-based cardiopulmonary exercise testing (modified Balke protocol) to determine absolute peak oxygen consumption (VO₂peak) and performed bone scans approximately 1.2 ± 0.1 years later using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) at the radius and tibia, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to measure hip areal bone mineral density (BMD).
In men, each one standard deviation increase in VO2peak was prominently linked with:
In contrast, no substantial associations between VO2 peak and bone parameters (including BMD, microarchitecture, or strength) were noted in women. Statistical models were stratified by sex and adjusted for multiple variables including age, race, weight, alcohol use, smoking, physical activity (measured by wrist-worn accelerometry), multimorbidity index, arthritis, hypertension, and limb length or height depending on the bone parameter assessed.
Despite using state-of-the-science technology, such as HR-pQCT and gold-standard VO₂peak measures, the study found no connection between cardiorespiratory fitness and DXA-based hip BMD or other microarchitectural bone outcomes—only failure load improved with fitness in men.
The results highlight a sex-specific link between fitness and bone strength, suggesting that higher VO₂peak may help preserve bone strength in older men. These findings warrant further research into the biological mechanisms underlying these sex differences and suggest that exercise interventions aimed at enhancing cardiorespiratory fitness could potentially contribute to bone health and fracture prevention in aging men.
Osteoporosis International
Association of cardiorespiratory fitness with HR-pQCT bone parameters in older adults: the Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA)
Nina Z Heilmann et al.
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