GAIL P. DALSKY, Ph.D.; KAREN S. STOCKE, B.S.; ALI A. EHSANI, M.D.; EDUARDO SLATOPOLSKY, M.D.; WALDON C. LEE; STANLEY J. BIRGE Jr., M.D.
Study Objective: To assess the effect of weight-bearing exercise training and subsequent detraining on lumbar bone mineral content in postmenopausal women.
Design: Non-randomized, controlled, short-term (9 months) trial and long-term (22 months) exercise training and detraining (13 months).
Setting: Section of applied physiology at a university school of medicine.
Patients: Thirty-five healthy, sedentary postmenopausal women, 55 to 70 years old. All women completed the study. There was 90% compliance with exercise training.
Interventions: All women were given calcium, 1500 mg daily. The exercise group did weight-bearing exercise (walking, jogging, stair climbing) at 70% to 90% of maximal oxygen uptake capacity for 50 to 60 min, 3 times weekly.
Measurements and Main Results: Bone mineral content increased 5. 2% (95% confidence interval [Cl], 2.0% to 8.4%; P = 0.0037) above baseline after short-term training whereas there was no change (-1.4%) in the control group. After 22 months of exercise, bone mineral content was 6.1% (95% Cl, 3.9% to 8.3% above baseline; P =0.0001) in the long-term training group. After 13 months of decreased activity, bone mass was 1.1% above baseline in the detraining group.
Conclusions: Weight-bearing exercise led to significant increases above baseline in bone mineral content which were maintained with continued training in older, postmenopausal women. With reduced weight-bearing exercise, bone mass reverted to baseline levels. Further studies are needed to determine the threshold exercise prescription that will produce significant increases in bone mass.
DALSKY GP, STOCKE KS, EHSANI AA, et al. Weight-Bearing Exercise Training and Lumbar Bone Mineral Content in Postmenopausal Women. Ann Intern Med. 1988;108:824–828. doi: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-108-6-824
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Published: Ann Intern Med. 1988;108(6):824-828.
DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-108-6-824
Endocrine and Metabolism, Metabolic Bone Disorders.