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Updated: Jan 3, 2026
Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Muscular Fitness Mediates the Association between 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Areal Bone Mineral Density in Children with
Jose J Gil-Cosano1, Luis Gracia-Marco1,2, Esther Ubago-Guisado1,3
1PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity" Research Group, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain.
Abstract:
The association between vitamin D [25(OH)D] and bone health has been widely studied in children. Given that 25(OH)D and bone health are associated with muscular fitness, this could be the cornerstone to understand this relationship. Hence, the purpose of this work was to examine if the relation between 25(OH)D and areal bone mineral density (aBMD) was mediated by muscular fitness in children with overweight/obesity. Eighty-one children (8-11 years, 53 boys) with overweight/obesity were included. Body composition was measured with dual energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA), 25(OH)D was measured in plasma samples and muscular fitness was assessed by handgrip and standing long jump tests (averaged z-scores were used to represent overall muscular fitness). Simple mediation analyses controlling for sex, years from peak height velocity, lean mass and season were carried out. Our results showed that muscular fitness z-score, handgrip strength and standing long jump acted as mediators in the relationship between 25(OH)D and aBMD outcomes (percentages of mediation ranged from 49.6% to 68.3%). In conclusion, muscular fitness mediates the association of 25(OH)D with aBMD in children with overweight/obesity. Therefore, 25(OH)D benefits to bone health could be dependent on muscular fitness in young ages.
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