title: Childhood Physical Performance Measures and Adulthood Knee Cartilage Volume and Bone Area: A 25-Year Cohort Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to determine the associations between childhood physical performance measures and tibial cartilage volume and tibial bone area in adults 25 years later.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (n = 330, ages 31-41 years, female 47%) were selected from the Australian Schools Health and Fitness Survey of 1985. The participants underwent T1-weighted fat-suppressed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of their knees. Tibial bone area and cartilage volume were measured from MRI. Childhood measures, including physical work capacity at 170 beats per minute (PWC170 ), leg strength, number of sit-ups, long-run, and short-run were measured in 1985. PWC170 and leg strength measures were repeated after 20 years in their adulthood. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the association of performance measures with cartilage volume.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were consistent positive associations of all childhood measures, including PWC170 (β = 0.38 cm(2) per 10 watts, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.15, 0.60), leg strength, long-run, short-run, and sit-ups with adult medial and total tibial bone area. Similarly, there was an association of PWC170 and sit-ups with adult medial tibial cartilage volume. After further adjustment for tibial bone area, the association between PWC170 and medial and total (β = 0.08 cm(3) per 10 watts, 95% CI 0.02, 0.10) tibial cartilage volume decreased in magnitude but remained significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Childhood physical performance measures, especially PWC170 , were associated with knee tibial bone area and cartilage volume in adulthood. The associations with cartilage volume appeared to be partially mediated by bone area. This suggests physical performance measures in childhood can independently influence adult knee structures.
authors.affiliation: University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
authors.forename: Benny
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Antony
authors.affiliation: University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
authors.forename: Graeme
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Venn
authors.affiliation: Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cicuttini
authors.affiliation: University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Lyn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: March
authors.affiliation: University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
authors.forename: Leigh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blizzard
authors.affiliation: Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Terence
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dwyer
authors.affiliation: University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Marita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.affiliation: University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, and Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Changhai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ding
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D013977:Tibia / Q000033:anatomy & histology*