Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/7211
Title: Factors affecting bone loss in female endurance athletes - A two-year follow-up study
Authors: Braam, L.A.J.L.M.
Knapen, M.H.J.
GEUSENS, Piet 
Brouns, F.
Vermeer, C.
Issue Date: 2003
Publisher: AMER ORTHOPAEDIC SOC SPORT MED
Source: American journal of sports medicine, 31(6). p. 889-895
Abstract: Background: Low bone mass leading to stress fractures is a well-known and yet unsolved problem among female athletes. Purpose: To quantify the rate of bone loss in healthy female athletes and investigate the effects of estrogen and vitamin K supplementation on bone loss. Study Design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: We classified 115 female endurance athletes into amenorrheic, eumenorrheic, or estrogen-supplemented groups and randomized them to receive either placebo or vitamin K-1. The bone mineral densities of the subjects' femoral neck and lumbar spine were measured at baseline and after 2 years. Results: Bone mineral density in the lumbar spine remained constant, but bone density in the femoral neck had decreased significantly after 2 years in all three subgroups. The decrease was higher in amenorrheic (-6.5% +/- 4.0%) than in eumenorrheic (-3.2% +/- 4.1%) and estrogen-supplemented athletes (-3.9% +/- 3.1%). Supplementation with vitamin K did not affect the rate of bone loss. Conclusions: The rate of bone loss in all three subgroups of female athletes was unexpectedly high; neither estrogen nor vitamin K supplementation prevented bone loss. Clinical Relevance: High-intensity training maintained over several years must be regarded in women as a risk factor for osteoporosis, and protocols for optimal treatment should be developed. (C) 2003 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.
Keywords: VITAMIN-K SUPPLEMENTATION; MULTIPLE SKELETAL SITES; LONG-DISTANCE RUNNERS; MINERAL-CONTENT; PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY; HIP FRACTURE; AMENORRHEIC RUNNERS; CIRCULATING LEVELS; DIETARY CALCIUM; BLOOD-PRESSURE
Document URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/7211
ISSN: 0363-5465
e-ISSN: 1552-3365
ISI #: 000186640600011
Category: A1
Type: Journal Contribution
Validations: ecoom 2004
Appears in Collections:Research publications

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