The Effect of 6-Month Complex Exercise on Serum Bone Metabolism: Focused on the Elderly over 75 Years Old

Abstract

Korea already entered the aging society (August 2017), in which 14% of the population is 65 years or older, and it is expected to enter as a super-aged society, in which 20% of the population is elderly at the world’s fastest rate by 2025. This means that a health management plan is needed to effectively manage the health of the elderly in preparation for the upcoming super-aging society. Therefore, this study analyzed the effects of exercise on serum osteocalcin, bone ALP, and estradiol, which are representative indicators of bone formation after six months of complex exercise, and confirmed the usefulness of exercise programs and biochemical indicators for the elderly in late years to provide basic data for the prevention of osteoporosis. The subjects of this study were the elderly in late years (exercise group = 14, control group = 15), those 75 years or older in Korea, who performed complex exercises twice a week for six months. As a result of analyzing the effect of exercise performance on osteocalcin in the elderly in late years for six months in this study, no significant difference was found. However, osteocalcin decreased by 7.7% in the control group and increased by 18.66% in the exercise group, while ALP increased by 18.92% in the control group and significantly increased by 69.81% in the exercise group. As a result of analyzing the effect on estradiol, there was no significant difference, but it decreased by 55.09% in the control group and decreased by 1.85% in the exercise group. Based on the results showing that exercise clearly plays a positive role in improving bone density even for middle- and late-aged elderly people, in the future, the exercise will be useful to maintain and improve health related to the skeleton of the elderly through the combined participation of aerobic, resistance, and balance exercises. In addition, it is necessary to conduct repeated studies targeting the elderly of various age groups to evaluate the effects of exercise according to period and gender.