title: Bone mineral density in young female Chinese dancers.
abstract: To evaluate of the effect of dancing on bone mineral density (BMD) we compared 29 Chinese girls who had been receiving regular ballet training for at least 6 years with a control group of 20 nonathletic sex- and age-matched Chinese girls. BMD was measured at the second to fourth lumbar spine and at the right femoral neck using a commercial dual-energy X-ray absorptiometer (DEXA). There were no significant differences in either measured BMD or spinal BMD after adjusting for body weight (body mass index). Adjusted BMD of the femoral neck, however, showed significant differences (P <0.05). Results revealed that the ballet dancers were significantly thinner than the control group and the negative effect of a lower bodyweight may neutralize the positive effect of ballet dancing on BMD, especially in the femoral neck.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Show-Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000886:Anthropometry; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003615:Dancing; D003720:Densitometry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012494:Sampling Studies