title: How does a physical activity programme in elementary school affect fracture risk? A prospective controlled intervention study in Malmo, Sweden.
abstract: Recent evidence from the 7-year follow-up of the Pediatric Osteoporosis Prevention (POP) study indicates an inverse correlation between years of participation in a physical activity (PA) intervention and fracture risk in children. However, we could not see a statistically significant reduction in fracture risk, which urged for an extension of the intervention.
  
  
  
  The study was conducted in 4 neighbouring elementary schools, where 1 school functioned as intervention school.
  
  
  
  We included all children who began first grade in these 4 schools between 1998 and 2012. This resulted in 1339 children in the intervention group and 2195 children in the control group, all aged 6-8 years at the state of the study.
  
  
  
  We launched an 8-year intervention programme with 40 min of moderate PA per school day, while the controls continued with the Swedish national standard of 60 min of PA per week.
  
  
  
  We used the regional radiographic archive to register objectively verified fractures and we estimated annual fracture incidences and incidence rate ratios (IRRs).
  
  
  
  During the first year after initiation of the intervention, the fracture IRR was 1.65 (1.05 to 2.08) (mean 95% CI). For each year of the study, the fracture incidence rate in the control group compared with the intervention group increased by 15.7% (5.6% to 26.8%) (mean 95% CI). After 8 years, the IRR of fractures was 52% lower in the intervention group than in the control group (IRR 0.48 (0.25 to 0.91) (mean 95% CI))].
  
  
  
  Introduction of the school-based intervention programme is associated with a higher fracture risk in the intervention group during the first year followed by a gradual reduction, so that during the eighth year, the fracture risk was lower in the intervention group.
  
  
  
  NCT00633828.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Clinical Sciences, Clinical and Molecular Osteoporosis Research Unit, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Marcus E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Cöster
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Clinical Sciences, Clinical and Molecular Osteoporosis Research Unit, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jesper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fritz
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Clinical Sciences, Clinical and Molecular Osteoporosis Research Unit, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jan-Åke
authors.initials: JÅ
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Clinical Sciences, Clinical and Molecular Osteoporosis Research Unit, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Clinical Sciences, Clinical and Molecular Osteoporosis Research Unit, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Björn E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Rosengren
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dencker
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Clinical Sciences, Clinical and Molecular Osteoporosis Research Unit, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Magnus K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Karlsson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012572:School Health Services / Q000592:standards; D012574:Schools; D013548:Sweden
keywords: PUBLIC HEALTH; SPORTS MEDICINE