Load-specific physical activity scores are related to tibia bone architecture

Area of Science:

• Musculoskeletal health
• Bone biology
• Exercise science

Background:

• Physical activity assessment is crucial for bone health studies.
• Existing questionnaires like BLHQ and BPAQ correlate with bone density but not architecture.
• The relationship between physical activity scoring methods and bone architecture needs further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the associations between physical activity scoring methods and bone architecture in adolescent females.
• To determine if bone loading scores (BLHQ, BPAQ) and energy expenditure relate to bone structure.

Main Methods:

• Participants: 24 non-Hispanic white adolescent females (18-19 years).
• Measures: Bone Loading History Questionnaire (BLHQ), Bone-Specific Physical Activity Questionnaire (BPAQ), 7-day physical activity recall for energy expenditure.
• Bone assessment: MRI for bone architecture (radius, tibia), DXA for areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and body composition.
• Analysis: Pearson and partial correlations adjusting for height, fat mass, and fat-free soft tissue mass.

Main Results:

• Hip BLHQ scores correlated with midtibia cortical volume.
• Adjusted hip and spine BLHQ scores correlated with midtibia cortical measures and distal radius trabecular number.
• BPAQ scores correlated with midtibia cortical measures and most aBMD.
• Energy expenditure was inversely associated with femoral neck aBMD after adjustment.

Conclusions:

• Higher load-specific physical activity scores are linked to improved midtibia cortical bone quality.
• These findings support the use of BLHQ and BPAQ in musculoskeletal research for assessing bone health.
• Physical activity questionnaires may be more indicative of bone architecture than simple energy expenditure measures.