Gender-Specific Body Composition Relationships between Adipose Tissue Distribution and Peak Bone Mineral Density in Young Chinese Adults

Abstract

Background. The relationships between adipose tissue distribution and peak bone mineral density (BMD) in young adults are still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the body composition associations between fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM), regional adipose tissue distribution, and peak BMD across a cohort of young Chinese adults. Methods. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans were performed on 786 men and 825 women aged from 20 to 40 years old to measure the markers for whole-body LM, FM, and BMD in the lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN), and total hip (TH) areas. The android/gynoid FM ratio (A/G FMR) based on the DXA scans was calculated as an indicator of adipose tissue distribution. Pearson’s correlation and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the body composition relationships between adipose tissue distribution and BMD of each skeletal site. Results. The body composition characteristics were different in young males and females: a higher body FM percentage was found in females, while males had higher LM and A/G FMR. The markers for WBLM and WBFM had significant positive correlations with BMD among the linear regression analyses in both genders, while the relationships between A/G FMR and BMD were different in males and females; significant inverse associations were showed in all skeletal sites for women (standard β ranged from -0.266 to -0.170, P<0.001 for all), but no significant relationships were found in men except for an inverse association in the LS skeletal site (standard β with -0.115, P=0.016). Conclusions. In this sample of young Chinese adults, both whole-body lean mass and fat mass had significant positive relationships with BMD in both genders. The A/G FMR, as an indicator of central adipose tissue distribution, was inversely associated with BMD, especially in females.

Association of Body Compositions and Bone Mineral Density in Chinese Children and Adolescents: Compositional Data Analysis

“…TF was positively correlated with BMD in the overweight group in girls and the normal-weight group in boys. Inconsistent with our finding, the majority of previous studies involving children and adolescents [8,32,33] or adults [27,34] have reported a negative relationship between TF and BMD. However, unlike our research with a wide range of body and fat mass, most of these studies were conducted in overweight or obese children.…”

“…The results of our study further demonstrate the positive relationship between FFM and BMD in children and adolescents. Because of the common genetic and hormonal determinants BioMed Research International [27,28], muscle and bone are closely related adjacent tissues [29], and loss of muscle mass and bone mass throughout life has been proven to be coupled and has been assumed to be part of the same functional unit [26]. In addition, mechanical loading increases bone formation, while weight-bearing exercise improves bone mineral stress [30].…”

Sex Differences in Bone Health Among Indian Older Adults with Obesity, Sarcopenia, and Sarcopenic Obesity

“…In contrast, men who were obese had worse BMD and BMAD at the whole-body. There are established sex differences in body fat distribution where men have more visceral fat than subcutaneous fat [ 34 ]. In this study, as a surrogate measure of site-specific adiposity, we adjusted for waist and hip circumference and showed that the differences were attenuated in women but not men.…”

“…In this study, as a surrogate measure of site-specific adiposity, we adjusted for waist and hip circumference and showed that the differences were attenuated in women but not men. Among men, fat may mainly be distributed in the trunk, but women may have a greater distribution in the limbs and hip region [ 34 , 35 ]. Women may therefore have a greater absorption of impact forces by soft-tissue padding around the hip which may translate to a bone-protective effect [ 34 , 35 ].…”

The Gender-Specific Relationship between Nutritional Status, Physical Activity and Functional Mobility in Irish Community-Dwelling Older Adults

“…Multiple linear regression was then used to investigate the relationship between nutritional status, physical activity level, demographic variables, and TUG performance for each gender. Due to the considerably larger sample size required for the detection of interaction effects [25], a separate regression model was built for each gender, as opposed to including gender interaction effects in one model [26,27]. Variance inflation factors (VIF) were calculated to assess for multi-collinearity (a VIF of < 4 was used as a cut-point for inclusion in the model) [28] and Durbin-Watson and Shapiro-Wilk tests were applied to the residuals to ensure assumptions of homoscedasticity and normally distributed were met, respectively.…”