Sex Specific Association of Physical Activity on Proximal Femur BMD in 9 to 10 Year-Old Children

The results of physical activity (PA) intervention studies suggest that adaptation to mechanical loading at the femoral neck (FN) is weaker in girls than in boys. Less is known about gender differences associated with non-targeted PA levels at the FN or other clinically relevant regions of the proximal femur. Understanding sex-specific relationships between proximal femur sensitivity and mechanical loading during non-targeted PA is critical to planning appropriate public health interventions. We examined sex-specific associations between non-target PA and bone mineral density (BMD) of three sub-regions of the proximal femur in pre- and early-pubertal boys and girls. BMD at the FN, trochanter (TR) and intertrochanter (IT) regions, and lean mass of the whole body were assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in 161 girls (age: 9.7 +/- 0.3 yrs) and 164 boys (age: 9.7 +/- 0.3 yrs). PA was measured using accelerometry. Multiple linear regression analyses (adjusted for body height, total lean mass and pubertal status) revealed that vigorous PA explained 3-5% of the variability in BMD at all three sub-regions in boys. In girls, vigorous PA explained 4% of the variability in IT BMD and 6% in TR BMD. PA did not contribute to the variance in FN BMD in girls. An additional 10 minutes per day of vigorous PA would be expected to result in a similar to 1% higher FN, TR, and IT BMD in boys (p<0.05) and a similar to 2% higher IT and TR BMD in girls. In conclusion, vigorous PA can be expected to contribute positively to bone health outcomes for boys and girls. However, the association of vigorous PA to sub-regions of the proximal femur varies by sex, such that girls associations are heterogeneous and the lowest at the FN, but stronger at the TR and the IT, when compared to boys.