Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 May 6;8(7):ziae061.
doi: 10.1093/jbmrpl/ziae061. eCollection 2024 Jul.

Cross-sectional associations between accelerometer-measured physical activity and hip bone mineral density: the Tromsø Study 2015-2016

Saija Mikkilä  1   2 , Bjørn Helge Handegård  3 , Jonas Johansson  2 , Laila A Hopstock  4 , Roland Van den Tillaar  5 , Nina Emaus  4 , Bente Morseth  1 , Boye Welde  1   6
Affiliations

Cross-sectional associations between accelerometer-measured physical activity and hip bone mineral density: the Tromsø Study 2015-2016

Saija Mikkilä et al. JBMR Plus. .

Abstract

Positive associations between physical activity and bone health have been found in population-based studies, however, mostly based on self-reported physical activity. Therefore, we investigated the association between accelerometer-measured physical activity, measured in steps per day and minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day, and total hip areal BMD (aBMD) measured by DXA in a general population, utilizing multiple regression models. The study participants, 1560 women and 1177 men aged 40-84 yr, were part of the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study (2015-2016). In both genders, we found a positive association between the number of daily steps and aBMD adjusted for age, BMI, and smoking status (P < .001). In women, an increase of 1000 steps per day was associated with 0.005 g/cm2 higher aBMD. For men, a polynomial curve indicated a positive association with aBMD up to 5000 steps per day, plateauing between 5000 and 14 000 steps, and then increasing again. Additionally, MVPA duration was positively associated with aBMD in both women (P < .001) and men (P = .004) when adjusted for age, BMI, and smoking status. Specifically, each 60-min increase in daily MVPA was associated with 0.028 and 0.023 g/cm2 higher aBMD in women and men, respectively. Despite positive associations, the clinical impact of physical activity on aBMD in this general population of adults and older adults was relatively small, and a large increase in daily MVPA might not be achievable for most individuals. Therefore, further longitudinal population-based studies incorporating device-based measures of physical activity could add more clarity to these relationships.

Keywords: DXA; epidemiology; exercise; general population studies; osteoporosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart illustrating the procedure for selection of participants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Curve-fit for a cubic model for the association between aBMD and the daily number of steps (in thousands) for men n = 1177. The Tromsø Study 2015-2016.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Curve-fit for a linear model for the association between aBMD and the daily number of steps (in thousands) for women n = 1560. The Tromsø Study 2015-2016.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Marshall D, Johnell O, Wedel H. Meta-analysis of how well measures of bone mineral density predict occurrence of osteoporotic fractures. BMJ. 1996;312(7041):1254–1259. 10.1136/bmj.312.7041.1254 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hasserius R, Karlsson MK, Jonsson B, Redlund-Johnell I, Johnell O. Long-term morbidity and mortality after a clinically diagnosed vertebral fracture in the elderly--a 12- and 22-year follow-up of 257 patients. Calcif Tissue Int. 2005;76(4):235–242. 10.1007/s00223-004-2222-2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cummings SR, Melton LJ. Epidemiology and outcomes of osteoporotic fractures. Lancet. 2002;359(9319):1761–1767. 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08657-9 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schnell S, Friedman SM, Mendelson DA, Bingham KW, Kates SL. The 1-year mortality of patients treated in a hip fracture program for elders. Geriatr Orthop Surg Rehabil. 2010;1(1):6–14. 10.1177/2151458510378105 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kohrt WM, Bloomfield SA, Little KD, Nelson ME, Yingling VR, American College of Sports M . American College of Sports Medicine position stand: physical activity and bone health. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004;36(11):1985–1996. 10.1249/01.MSS.0000142662.21767.58 - DOI - PubMed