Adolescent female handball players present greater bone mass content than soccer players:​ a cross-sectional study

Fagundes, Ulysses; Vancini, Rodrigo Luiz; Seffrin, Aldo; de Almeida, Alexandre Aparecido; Nikolaidis, Pantelis T.; Rosemann, Thomas; Knechtle, Beat; Andrade, Marilia Santos; de Lira, Claudio Andre Barbosa

Affiliations

¹Department of Physiology, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil

²Center of Physical Education and Sports, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Brazil

³Department of Physiology, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil

⁴Tocantins Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology, Araguatins, Brazil

⁵School of Health and Caring Sciences, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

⁶Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

⁷Medbase St. Gallen Am Vadianplatz, St. Gallen, Switzerland

⁸Department of Physiology, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil

⁹Human and Exercise Physiology Division, Faculty of Physical Education and Dance, Federal University of Goiás, Brazil

Abstract and keywords

Background: Osteoporosis is a systemic disease affecting half of women over the age of 50 years. Considering that almost 90% of peak of bone mass is achieved until the second decade of life, ensuring a maximal bone mineral content acquisition may compensate for age-associated bone loss. Among several other factors, physical activity has been recommended to improve bone mass acquisition. However, it is unknown whether athletes involved with sports with different impact loading characteristics differ in regards to bone mass measurements.

Aim: To compare the bone mass content, bone mass density and lean mass of young female soccer players (odd-impact loading exercise), handball players (high-impact loading exercises) and non-athletes.

Methods: A total of 115 female handball players (15.5 ± 1.3 years, 165.2 ± 5.6 cm and 61.9 ± 9.3 kg) and 142 soccer players (15.5 ± 1.5 years, 163.7 ± 6.6 cm and 56.5 ± 7.7 kg) were evaluated for body composition using a dual-emission X-ray absorptiometry system, and 136 female non-athletes (data from NHANES) (15.1 ± 1.32 years, 163.5 ± 5.8 cm and 67.2 ± 19.4 kg) were considered as the control.

Results: Handball players presented higher bone mass content values than soccer players for upper limbs (294.8 ± 40.2 g and 270.7 ± 45.7 g, p < 0.001), lower limbs (1011.6 ± 145.5 g and 967.7 ± 144.3 g, p = 0.035), trunk (911.1 ± 182.5 g and 841.6 ± 163.7 g, p = 0.001), ribs (312.4 ± 69.9 g and 272.9 ± 58.0 g, p < 0.001), spine (245.1 ± 46.8 g and 222.0 ± 45.1 g, p < 0.001) and total bone mass (2708.7 ± 384.1 g and 2534.8 ± 386.0 g, p < 0.001). Moreover, non-athletes presented lower bone mass content for lower limbs (740.6 ± 132.3 g, p < 0.001), trunk (539.7 ± 98.6 g, p < 0.001), ribs (138.2 ± 29.9 g, p < 0.001), pelvis (238.9 ± 54.6 g, p < 0.001), spine (152.8 ± 26.4 g, p < 0.001) and total bone mass (1987.5 ± 311.3 g, p < 0.001) than both handball and soccer players. Handball players also presented higher bone mass density values than soccer players for trunk, ribs and spine (p < 0.05) and handball and soccer players presented higher bone mass density than non-athletes for all measurements (p < 0.005). Finally, the non-athletes' lower limb lean mass was lower than soccer and handball players values (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Adolescent females engaged in handball training for at least one year present higher bone mass contents than those who are engaged in soccer training, which, in turn, present higher bone mass contents than non-athletes. These results might be used by physicians and healthcare providers to justify the choice of a particular sport to enhance bone mass gain in female adolescents.

Keywords: Exercise; Exercise training; Bone mass; Osteoporosis; Body composition

Links

DOI: 10.1016/j.bone.2021.116217

PubMed: 34583063

WoS: 000703972800015

History

Received: 2021-06-18

Revised: 2021-09-07

Accepted: 2021-09-21

Online: 2021-09-25

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