Percent fat mass is inversely associated with bone mass and hip geometry in rural Chinese adolescents

• Published in: Journal of bone and mineral research 2010-07, Vol.25 (7), p.1544-1554
• Main Authors: Hong, Xiumei, Arguelles, Lester M, Liu, Xin, Tsai, Hui‐Ju, Hsu, Yi‐Hsiang, Wang, Binyan, Zhang, Shanchun, Li, Zhiping, Tang, Gengfu, Liu, Xue, Yang, Jianhua, Xu, Xiping, Langman, Craig, Wang, Xiaobin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absorptiometry, Photon; Adipose Tissue - anatomy & histology; adolescence; Adolescent; Biological and medical sciences; Bone and Bones - anatomy & histology; Bone Density; bone mineral content; China; coheritability; Cohort Studies; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hip - anatomy & histology; hip geometry; Humans; Male; Original; percent fat mass; Rural Population; Skeleton and joints; Vertebrates: osteoarticular system, musculoskeletal system; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0884-0431; 1523-4681
• DOI: 10.1002/jbmr.40

This study was an attempt to examine the phenotypic, genetic, and environmental correlations between percent fat mass (PFM) and bone parameters, especially hip geometry, among 786 males and 618 females aged 13 to 21 years from a Chinese twin cohort. PFM, bone area (BA), bone mineral content (BMC), cross‐sectional area (CSA), and section modulus (SM) were obtained by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the PFM‐bone relationships. A structural equation model for twin design was used to estimate genetic/environmental influences on individual phenotype and phenotypic correlations. After controlling for body weight and other pertinent covariates, we observed inverse associations between PFM and bone parameters: Compared with the lowest age‐ and gender‐specific tertile of PFM, males in the highest tertile of PFM had lower measures of whole‐body‐less‐head BA (WB‐BA), lumbar spine BA (L2–L4‐BA), total‐hip BA (TH‐BA), total‐hip BMC, CSA, and SM (p