Healthy Postmenopausal Women–Physical Activity and Forearm Bone Mineral Density: The Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to analyze the association between Physical Activity (PA) and forearm bone mineral density (BMD) in healthy postmenopausal women. During 1984–1986, a population-based health survey (HUNT-1) was conducted in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The second follow-up survey (HUNT-2) was conducted during 1995–1997. The subjects consist of all healthy postmenopausal women (N = 2,924). Higher intensity of recreational PA in HUNT-1 was associated with higher BMD ultradistally (slope = +0.0084, p = 0.0009). The summary score of duration, frequency and intensity of recreational PA in HUNT-1 was associated with lower risk of being below the 20th percentile ultradistally (OR = 0.90, p = 0.01, after adjustment for covariates). The trends for mean distal and ultradistal BMD and percent low BMD lacked statistical significance when we used the PA score that combined the recreational and occupational PA in HUNT-1 and HUNT-2. Conclusion: Higher intensity of prior recreational PA (HUNT-1) was associated with a protective effect on BMD measured in the forearm (HUNT-2).

KEYWORDS:

• Physical activity
• exercise
• postmenopausal women
• osteoporosis
• BMD
• forearm
• epidemiology
• population-based study