EFFECT OF 2 TRAINING REGIMENS ON BONE-MINERAL DENSITY IN HEALTHY PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN - A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effect s of 18 months of calisthenics and endurance training regimens on bone mineral density (BMD) in perimenopausal women. Clinically healthy sed entary female volunteers (n = 105) aged 52-53 years were randomly assi gned to a calisthenics (n = 36), endurance (n = 34), or control (n = 3 5) group. The calisthenics training (2.6 times per week on average, 50 minutes per session) consisted of rhythmic strength-endurance exercis es by large muscle groups, and the endurance training (3.2 times per w eek, 50 minutes) consisted of walking, stair climbing, ergometer cycli ng, and jogging at a controlled heart rate zone corresponding to 55-75 % of the individual maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) of the subjects. Th e control subjects performed a light stretching program once a week Th e BMD of the lumbar spine (L2-L4), right femoral neck, calcaneus, and distal radius was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at 0, 4 , 8, 10, 14, and 18 months, and the maximal isometric strength during trunk extension and flexion, leg extension, and arm flexion and the VO 2max by ergospirometry were evaluated at 0, 8, 10, and 18 months of in tervention. The VO2max improved significantly (p = 0.021) in the endur ance group. The linear trend of the femoral neck BMD in the endurance group, as determined by generalized linear models,,vas significantly d ifferent (p = 0.043) from that of the control group, the trend indicat ing a maintenance of the prestudy BMD. In the calisthenics group, the training effect was not significant. However, the distal radius BMD of the endurance group showed a significant negative trend (p = 0.006). These results suggest that multiexercise endurance training maintains the BMD the clinically important femoral neck of perimenopausal women. This form of endurance training proved also to be feasible for health y perimenopausal women.