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Muscle density predicts changes in bone density and strength: a prospective study in girls
1Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Objective:
We sought to determine whether muscle density, an index of skeletal muscle fat content, was predictive of 2-year changes in weight-bearing bone parameters in young girls.
Methods:
Two-year prospective data from 248 girls, aged 8-13 years at baseline. Peripheral quantitative computed tomography was used to measure changes in bone strength indices (bone strength index [BSI, mg(2)/mm(4)] and strength-strain index [SSIp, mm(3)]) and volumetric bone mineral density [vBMD, mg/cm(3)] at distal metaphyseal and diaphyseal regions of the femur and tibia, as well as calf and thigh muscle density (mg/cm(3)), and muscle cross-sectional area (MCSA, mm(2)), indices of skeletal muscle fat content and muscle force production, respectively.
Results:
After controlling for potential confounders, greater gains in femur BSI (44%, P<0.002), total femur vBMD (114%, P<0.04) and femur trabecular vBMD (306%, P<0.002) occurred in girls in the lowest versus the highest groups of baseline thigh muscle density. Greater gains in tibial BSI (25%, P<0.03) and trabecular vBMD (190%, P<0.002) were also observed in the lowest versus the highest baseline calf muscle density groups.
Conclusion:
Baseline muscle density is a significant predictor of changes in bone density and bone strength in young girls during a period of rapid skeletal development.
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