PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY IN ADOLESCENCE AND BONE-DENSITY IN PERIMENOPAUSAL AND POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN - A POPULATION-BASED STUDY

The association between sports participation during adolescence and pe ri-and postmenopausal bone mineral density (BMD) was examined among 20 25 women aged 48-58 years, Adolescent recreational and competitive spo rting activities were registered with a self-administered questionnair e, Altogether, 881 (43.5%) women stated that they had taken part in sp orts during their adolescence, BMD was measured using dual X-ray absor ptiometry (DXA) in lumbar vertebrae 2-4 and the left femoral neck, The unadjusted BMD was 2.4% higher (p = 0.001) and the adjusted BMD was 1 .4% higher in the spine (p = 0.015 after adjusting for age, weight, ti me from menopause to densitometry, and duration of estrogen replacemen t therapy) among women who had taken part in sports during their adole scence compared to women who had been inactive, There was no significa nt difference in femoral neck BMD between these groups, The results of this population-based study suggest that intense recreational physica l activity in adolescence could play some role in preventing axial ost eoporosis in later life. (C) 1997 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.