Participation in High-Impact Sports Predicts Bone Mineral Density in Senior Olympic Athletes

BACKGROUND: Loss of bone mineral density (BMD) and resultant fractures increase with age in both sexes. Participation in resistance or high-impact sports is a known contributor to bone health in young athletes; however, little is known about the effect of participation in impact sports on bone density as people age. HYPOTHESIS: To test the hypothesis that high-impact sport participation will predict BMD in senior athletes, this study evaluated 560 athletes during the 2005 National Senior Games (the Senior Olympics). STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional methods. The athletes completed a detailed health history questionnaire and underwent calcaneal quantitative ultrasound to measure BMD. Athletes were classified as participating in high impact sports (basketball, road race [running], track and field, triathalon, and volleyball) or non-high-impact sports. Stepwise linear regression was used to determine the influence of high-impact sports on BMD. RESULTS: On average, participants were 65.9 years old (range, 50 to 93). There were 298 women (53.2%) and 289 men (51.6%) who participated in high-impact sports. Average body mass index was 25.6 ± 3.9. The quantitative ultrasound-generated T scores, a quantitative measure of BMD, averaged 0.4 ± 1.3 and -0.1 ± 1.4 for the high-impact and non-high-impact groups, respectively. After age, sex, obesity, and use of osteoporosis medication were controlled, participation in high-impact sports was a significant predictor of BMD (R(2) change 3.2%, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: This study represents the largest sample of BMD data in senior athletes to date. Senior participation in high-impact sports positively influenced bone health, even in the oldest athletes. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These data imply that high-impact exercise is a vital tool to maintain healthy BMD with active aging.