title: The Effect of Swimming During Childhood and Adolescence on Bone Mineral Density: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The effects of swimming on bone mineral density (BMD) have been studied by several researchers, with inconsistent results.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This meta-analysis aims to determine whether systematic swimming training may influence BMD during childhood and adolescence.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search was performed in PubMed, SPORTDiscus and ClinicalTrials.gov from the earliest possible year to March 2015, with data extraction and quality assessment performed independently by two researchers following the PRISMA methodology. Swimmers were compared to sedentary controls and to athletes performing highly osteogenic sports. Therefore, a total of two meta-analyses were developed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analyses. Swimmers presented similar BMD values to sedentary controls and lower than other high-impact athletes. Femoral neck and lumbar spine BMD differences between swimmers and sedentary controls and between swimmers and athletes practicing osteogenic sports appeared to increase with age and favored the non-swimming groups. There were no differences by sex.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While swimming is associated with several health benefits, it does not appear to be an effective sport for improving BMD. Swimmers might be in need of additional osteogenic exercises for increasing BMD values.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Sport Science (FCSD), Department of Physiatry and Nursing, Universidad de Zaragoza, Ronda Misericordia 5, 22001, Huesca, Spain.|GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development) Research Group, Zaragoza, Spain.|Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gomez-Bruton
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Sport Science (FCSD), Universidad de Zaragoza, Ronda Misericordia 5, 22001, Huesca, Spain.|redIAPP Research Network, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montero-Marín
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Sport Science (FCSD), Department of Physiatry and Nursing, Universidad de Zaragoza, Ronda Misericordia 5, 22001, Huesca, Spain.|GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development) Research Group, Zaragoza, Spain.|Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González-Agüero
authors.affiliation: redIAPP Research Network, Zaragoza, Spain.|Miguel Servet University Hospital, Zaragoza, Spain.|Instituto Aragones de Ciencias de la Salud, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García-Campayo
authors.affiliation: GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development) Research Group, Zaragoza, Spain.|Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Zaragoza, Spain.|Faculty of Health Science (FCS), Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Sport Science (FCSD), Department of Physiatry and Nursing, Universidad de Zaragoza, Ronda Misericordia 5, 22001, Huesca, Spain.|GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development) Research Group, Zaragoza, Spain.|Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Casajús
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Sport Science (FCSD), Department of Physiatry and Nursing, Universidad de Zaragoza, Ronda Misericordia 5, 22001, Huesca, Spain. gervicen@unizar.es.|GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development) Research Group, Zaragoza, Spain. gervicen@unizar.es.|Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Zaragoza, Spain. gervicen@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Germán
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vicente-Rodríguez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D056352:Athletes; D015519:Bone Density; D002648:Child; D005272:Femur Neck / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000502:physiology; D010012:Osteogenesis; D013550:Swimming / Q000502:physiology*