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Investigators find age of onset of puberty predicts adult osteoporosis risk
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Findings from investigators at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles indicate the onset of puberty as the main influence on adult bone mineral density and note that the length of puberty did not affect bone mineral density.
The study, led by Vicente Gilsanz, MD, PhD, appears in Pediatrics.
 Vicente Gilsanz |
“Puberty has a significant role in bone development,” Gilsanz stated in a hospital press release. “During this time, bones lengthen and increase in density. At the end of puberty, the epiphyseal plates close, terminating the ability of the bones to lengthen. When this occurs, the teenager has reached their maximum adult height and peak bone mass. We found that early puberty was associated with greater bone mass while later puberty resulted in less.”
As part of the multicenter Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study, investigators studied 78 girls and 84 boys who had just entered puberty and followed the group until they reached sexual maturity.
Adolescents with short stature sometimes undergo medical intervention to delay puberty in an effort to achieve greater height. This study indicates that prolonging the growth period by delaying puberty may have unexpected consequences in later life, according to the release.
“In healthy adolescent males and females, bone mass and bone density at skeletal maturity are inversely related to the timing of puberty,” Gilsanz and colleagues wrote in the study.
References:
- Gilsanz V, et al. Pediatr. 2011;158(1):100-5, 105.e1-2.
Disclosure: The Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study was funded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development contracts and General Clinical Research Center grants.
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