Are general obesity and visceral adiposity in men linked to reduced bone mineral content resulting from normal ageing? A population-based study

Associations between fat accumulation and distribution and bone mineral sta tus in men have not been comprehensively established, and available results are inconsistent. The aims of this study were as follows: (1) to evaluate relationships between anthropometric parameters of general obesity (body ma ss index, ME) and fat distribution (waist/hip ratio, WHR) and bone mineral content (BMC), and (2) to compare BMC (a) between obese men (BMI greater th an or equal to 27) and nonobese men and (b) between abdominally obese men ( WHR greater than or equal to 0.95) and men without visceral adiposity, in a population-based sample of Polish men. The sample comprised a group of 272 men, aged 20-60, randomly selected from healthy and occupationally active inhabitants of Wroclaw, Lower Silesia, Poland. Trabecular. cortical and tot al BMC at the ultra-distal radius of the nondominant hand were assessed by pQCT using the Stratec 960 apparatus. BMI and WHR were used as parameters o f general obesity and fat distribution, respectively. The relationships amo ng the analysed variables were established using a multiple linear regressi on. The differences in BMC depending on BMI and WHR values were tested usin g an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). BMI was positively related only to tr abecular BMC (r=0.17; P=0.03). Only trabecular BMC was higher in men with B MI greater than or equal to 27 compared to nonoverweight subjects (F=5.38; P=0.02). WHR was inversely related to trabecular (r=-0.30; P < 0.001), cort ical (r=-0.30, P < 0.001) and total BMC (r=-0.34; P < 0.001). All densitome tric parameters were lower in males with WHR greater than or equal to 0.95 than in normal men (results Of ANCOVA: for trabecular BMC. F=6.33, P=0.01, for cortical BMC, F=5.52, P=0.02, and for total BMC, F=7.73, P=0.006). In t he healthy Polish male population, BMI was of minor significance as a predi ctor of BMC at the ultra-distal radius, whereas visceral adiposity (assesse d by WHR) was significantly linked to reduced bone mass in men.