Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Assessment of the bone quality of black male athletes using calcaneal ultrasound: A cross-sectional study
Nutrition and Metabolism, Volume 5, No. 1, Article 13, Year 2008
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
Background. Lifestyle, genetics and environmental factors are established determinants of bone density. We aimed to describe the bone characteristics of competitive top-ranked Nigerian male athletes using calcaneal ultrasound and to assess whether intensive training promotes higher bone density in an environment with reportedly low calcium intake; to compare the bone characteristics of footballers with runners and other sportsmen; and to assess the correlation of stiffness index (SI) with activity level, since energy expenditure correlates with length of training and by extension, magnitude of skeletal loading. Methods. We recruited 102 male athletes: these included football (n = 68), running (n = 15), handball (n = 7), taekwando (n = 6), cycling (n = 2), judo (1), badminton (1) and high jump (1). Anthropometric data were first recorded on a structured form and energy expenditure was indirectly estimated with a validated questionnaire. Bone density was assessed using the Lunar Achilles+ calcaneal ultrasonometer. Results. The mean age of athletes was 25 ± 6 years. The means of BMI and energy expenditure were 21.9 ± 2.0 kg/m 2 and 35.0 ± 13.7 kcal/kg/day, respectively. Footballers were younger (p < 0.001) and heavier (p < 0.001) than runners. Football was a significant determinant of BUA independent of age, BMI and energy expenditure (p = 0.001). Football was also a significant determinant of SOS independent of age, height, weight and BMI (p < 0.001). The mean SI was 127 ± 16 and the median T-score was 0.82 (-1.88, 3.35). The mean SI of footballers (130 ± 15), runners (130 ± 12) and other sportsmen (115 ± 18) differed significantly (p = 0.001). Multivariate analyses revealed that football (p < 0.001) and running (p < 0.001) were significant determinants of SI independent of age and BMI. Footballers when compared with other sportsmen had a higher mean SI independent of age and BMI (p < 0.001). Age was not correlated with SI. The median T-score of footballers, 0.94 (-1.0, 3.35) was higher than that of other sportsmen. Conclusion. Repetitive skeletal loading at the heel has the potential to improve bone density in black male athletes. The magnitude of increase may be higher in medium impact sports such as soccer and running compared with low or non-impact sports such as judo or taekwando, and is independent of age and BMI. However, future longitudinal data will be required to support our observations. © 2008 Laabes et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Laabes, Emmanuel P.
Nigeria, Jos
University of Jos
VanderJagt, Dorothy Joan
United States, Albuquerque
The University of new Mexico
Obadofin, Michael O.
Nigeria, Jos
University of Jos
Sendeht, Ayuba J.
Nigeria, Jos
University of Jos
Glew, Robert Hayes
United States, Albuquerque
The University of new Mexico
Statistics
Citations: 221
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1186/1743-7075-5-13
e-ISSN:
17437075
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Cohort Study
Study Approach
Quantitative
Participants Gender
Male