Body composition, age and femoral bone mass of young adult women.
Maximum bone mineral density of the femur was measured by dual-photon densitometry in 282 healthy white women, aged 20 to 40 years. Femoral sites included the neck, Wards triangle, and the trochanter. Quetelet Index was used as a measure of weight adjusted for height, and body composition was measured using four-point bioelectrical impedance and anthropometry. Maximum bone mass is believed to be an important measure if the level established which remain characteristic or predict bone mineral density during the aging process. Body weight was correlated with each measure of femoral bone density, including the femoral neck (r = .42), Wards triangle (r = .34), and the trochanter (r = .44). Weight was more highly correlated with bone mass than with other measures of body composition, including fat-free mass, percent body fat, humeral muscle area, and humeral fat area. We observed that age was negatively associated with bone mass at all three femoral sites, even in subjects within the age range of 20 to 40 years, and the relationship was significant after controlling for Quetelet Index. There was no evidence of a nonlinear relationship that would indicate when maximal femoral bone mass reaches its peak within this age range.
Sowers
M
M
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109.
Kshirsagar
A
A
Crutchfield
M
M
Updike
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D001823:Body Composition; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D015519:Bone Density; D003720:Densitometry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans