Res Dev Disabil, 2018; S0891-4222(18): 30179-3, PMID: 30119956

Suboptimal bone status for adolescents with low motor competence and developmental coordination disorder-It"s sex specific.

Year: 2018

Chivers P, Rantalainen T, McIntyre F, Hands B, Weeks B, Beck B, Sophia N, Hart N, Siafarikas A
Institute for Health Research, The University of Notre Dame Australia, WA, Australia; Western Australian Bone Research Collaboration, WA, Australia; School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, WA, Australia. Electronic address: paola.c

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Australian adolescents with low motor competence (LMC) have higher fracture rates and poorer bone health compared to European normative data, but currently no normative data exists for Australians. AIMS: To examine whether there were bone health differences in Australian adolescents with LMC or Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) when compared to typically developing age-matched Australian adolescents. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Australian adolescents aged 12-18 years with LMC/DCD (n = 39; male = 27; female = 12) and an Australian comparison sample (n = 188; boys = 101; girls = 87) undertook radial and tibial peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT) scans. Stress Strain Index (SSI (mm(3))), Total Bone Area (TBA (mm(2))), Muscle Density (MuD [mgcm(3)]), Muscle Area (MuA [cm(2)]), Subcutaneous Fat Area (ScFA [cm(2)]), Cortical Density (CoD [mgcm(3)]), Cortical Area (CoD [mm(2)]), cortical concentric ring volumetric densities, Functional Muscle Bone Unit Index (FMBU: (SSI/bone length)) and Robustness Index (SSI/bone length^3), group and sex differences were examined. OUTCOME AND RESULTS: The main finding was a significant sex-x-group interaction for Tibial FMBU (p = .021), Radial MuD (p = .036), and radial ScFA (p = .002). Boys with LMC/DCD had lower tibial FMBU scores, radial MuD and higher ScFA than the typically developing age-matched sample. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Comparisons of bone measures with Australian comparative data are similar to European findings however sex differences were found in the present study. Australian adolescent boys with LMC/DCD had less robust bones compared to their well-coordinated Australian peers, whereas there were no differences between groups for girls. These differences may be due to lower levels of habitual weight-bearing physical activity, which may be more distinct in adolescent boys with LMC/DCD compared to girls.

GID: 4738; Last update: 21.08.2018