Attainment of maximal peak bone mass is crucial in the prevention of osteoporosis. Because a majority of bone mass is accrued during the peri- pubertal years, intervention designed to increase the peak should target this period. Physical activity is an important modifiable factor contributing to bone accrual, yet it is unclear whether benefits accrued during childhood are maintained to skeletal maturity. This proposal tests the following hypotheses: (I) Girls who participate in impact activity will accrue greater amounts of bone during the peripubertal years than inactive girls, and will retain those benefits even after cessation of the activity; (II) Increases in bone geometry will provide a greater contribution to bone mass gain than increases in bone material properties. To test these hypotheses the following Specific Aims are proposed: (I) To longitudinally measure bone accrual and the amount of impact activity in a cohort of pre- and peri-pubertal gymnasts, retired gymnasts, and non- gymnast controls will be followed for a 3 year period, beginning at an average of 11 years. Hours per week of gymnastics activity will be recorded and amount of physical activity will be measured by questionnaire. At baseline and six month intervals anthropemetric measurements will be made, self-Tanner stage will be recorded, and a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire will be administered. At yearly intervals bioelectric impedance analysis, muscle strength and endurance will be measured, and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans will be performed. (II) To longitudinally measure bone geometry and bone mineral material properties in the same activity and control cohorts. DXA scans will be used to assess differences in bone geometry and in bone and control cohorts. DXA scans will be used to assess differences in bone geometry and in bone volumetric density activity vs. inactive children. Confirmation of the proposed hypotheses will affirm the importance of childhood activity in bone accrual, providing evidence of the protective effect of such activity.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Type
Small Research Grants (R03)
Project #
5R03AR047613-03
Application #
6632762
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAR1-RJB-C (J1))
Program Officer
Mcgowan, Joan A
Project Start
2001-06-01
Project End
2005-04-30
Budget Start
2003-05-01
Budget End
2005-04-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$76,000
Indirect Cost
Name
Upstate Medical University
Department
Orthopedics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
058889106
City
Syracuse
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
13210
Scerpella, Tamara A; Bernardoni, Brittney; Wang, Sijian et al. (2016) Site-specific, adult bone benefits attributed to loading during youth: A preliminary longitudinal analysis. Bone 85:148-59
Bernardoni, Brittney; Scerpella, Tamara A; Rosenbaum, Paula F et al. (2015) The Influence of Organized Physical Activity (Including Gymnastics) on Young Adult Skeletal Traits: Is Maturity Phase Important? Pediatr Exerc Sci 27:285-96
Day, M A; Dowthwaite, J N; Rosenbaum, P F et al. (2015) Pre-menarcheal physical activity predicts post-menarcheal lean mass and core strength, but not fat mass. J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact 15:341-9
Dowthwaite, J N; Dunsmore, K A; Gero, N M et al. (2015) Arm bone loading index predicts DXA musculoskeletal outcomes in two samples of post-menarcheal girls. J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact 15:358-71
Scerpella, Tamara A; Gero, Nicole M; Ursillo, Christopher R et al. (2013) Improved body composition assessment using biceps skinfold and physical activity score in premenarcheal girls: a DXA-based validation study. Int J Body Compos Res 11:35-42
Dowthwaite, Jodi N; Rosenbaum, Paula F; Scerpella, Tamara A (2012) Site-specific advantages in skeletal geometry and strength at the proximal femur and forearm in young female gymnasts. Bone 50:1173-83
Scerpella, T A; Dowthwaite, J N; Rosenbaum, P F (2011) Sustained skeletal benefit from childhood mechanical loading. Osteoporos Int 22:2205-10
Dowthwaite, J N; Scerpella, T A (2011) Distal radius geometry and skeletal strength indices after peripubertal artistic gymnastics. Osteoporos Int 22:207-16
Scerpella, Tamara A; Dowthwaite, Jodi N; Gero, Nicole M et al. (2010) Skeletal benefits of pre-menarcheal gymnastics are retained after activity cessation. Pediatr Exerc Sci 22:21-33
Cole, Jacqueline H; Dowthwaite, Jodi N; Scerpella, Tamara A et al. (2009) Correcting fan-beam magnification in clinical densitometry scans of growing subjects. J Clin Densitom 12:322-9

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