[Bone mass formation in childhood and risk of osteoporosis]

The appearance of postmenopausal osteoporosis is correlated with the peak bone mass achieved during adolescence and the bone loss during adult life. The magnitude of the peak bone mass depends on genetic (race, sex, heredity), nutritional (calcium supplementation, obesity) and environmental factors as well as physical activity. Sex steroids and other hormonal factors involved in puberty, like growth hormone and insulin-like growth factors, are very important in the bone mass increase during this period. This is confirmed by studies in men with histories of constitutional delay of puberty, who have a decreased bone mineral density, and in children with precocious puberty treated with GnRH analogs, where the reduction in bone mineral density previously demonstrated seems at least completely reversible.