Greater bone density seen in older athletes playing high-impact sports

Controlling for confounding variables also showed a strong link between bone health and intense activities.

High-impact sports have been linked to increased bone density in young athletes. Now, research shows that these sports are also beneficial for the bone health of older competitors.

In a study of 560 athletes competing in the Senior Olympic Games, investigators discovered that athletes participating in high-impact sports showed statistically significantly greater bone mineral density than those in low-impact sports. After controlling for confounding variables, the researchers also found that high-impact sports significantly contributed to bone mineral density (BMD) (P<.001), according to the study abstract.

"We know that persistent participation in impact sports can positively influence the bone health of both men and women, and this is true for even the oldest athletes," Vonda J. Wright, MD, said during her presentation at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 74th Annual Meeting. "These data imply that exercise in general, and high-impact exercise in particular, should be used as a tool for maintaining bone health while aging."

The findings put a new spin on previous research regarding physical activity and BMD. "The relationship between activity and bone health is curvilinear with most sedentary, independent people falling within the flat portion of the curve where the dose response is very low," Wright said. "Therefore, the greatest impact of exercise in healthy people can be seen in those participating in periods of intense exertion."

Participants in the study filled out a health questionnaire and underwent calcaneal quantitative ultrasound to determine their BMD. The investigators divided the athletes into two groups based on the impact or level of resistance encountered during a sport. They categorized sports such as swimming and cycling as low impact, while basketball and road races were considered high-impact sports. The athletes were an average age of 65.9 and had an average body mass index of 25. Nearly half (48%) of the participants competed in high-impact sports and 53% were women.

"We found that those people participating in higher-resistance or high-impact sports had a statistically significantly higher bone density than those participating in the less high-resistance sports categories," Wright said.

The investigators found an average BMD T-score of 0.4±1.3 for the high-impact sports group vs. –0.1±1.4 for the low-impact athletes, according to the study abstract. "After controlling for age, sex, obesity [and] use of osteoporosis medications ... the bone density could be attributed to those participating in high impact sports," Wright said.

"This is interesting in light of the fact that in 2001, we also studied these senior Olympians and found that overall, osteopenia and osteoporosis were less prevalent in senior athletes than the general population," she said.

"Even in the most elderly women, [there was] a very high percentage of even women in their 80s having normal bone density." That study also showed lower rates of osteoporosis in women who competed in weight-bearing sports compared those participating in non-weight-bearing physical activity, she said.

For more information:
Vonda J. Wright, MD, can be reached at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Center for Sports Medicine, 3200 S. Water St., Pittsburgh, PA 15203; 412-687-3900; e-mail: drwright@seniorsportsandfitness.com. She has no conflicts to disclose.
Wright V, Kaz R, Irrgang JJ, et al. Participation in high impact sports predicts bone mineral density in senior Olympic athletes. #429. Presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 74th Annual Meeting. Feb. 14-18, 2007. San Diego.