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Bone metabolism markers and vitamin D in adolescent cyclists

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Abstract

Summary

This study aimed to describe bone metabolic activity in adolescent competitive cyclists compared to age-matched controls. The main result is that younger subjects present a higher bone turnover than the older ones. Moreover, cyclists under the age of 17 have higher scores on all markers than age-matched controls.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to describe bone metabolic activity in adolescent competitive cyclists compared to age-matched controls.

Methods

Twenty-two male adolescent cyclists between 14 and 20 years (y) and 20 age-matched controls participated in this study. Serum osteocalcin (OC), aminoterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PINP), and β-isomerized C-telopeptides (β-CTX) were analyzed by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA); plasma 25 hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results

Analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in bone metabolism markers and vitamin D between cyclists and controls. Cyclists over 17 y had a significantly lower concentration in bone formation and resorption biochemical markers compared to cyclists under 17 y (all P < 0.05). Moreover, controls over 17 y presented lower concentration for PINP (P < 0.05) compared to their peers under 17 y. Comparisons between cyclists and controls under 17 y revealed higher concentrations of OC and PINP (P < 0.05) in cyclists. Group interaction by age was found for OC, PINP, and β-CTX (P < 0.01). Cyclists over 17 y had higher concentrations of [25(OH)D] (P < 0.05) than age-matched controls.

Conclusions

The present results support the idea that cycling during adolescence may be associated to a decrease in bone turnover that may affect bone health later in life.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the controls, cyclists, and their coaches for their diligence and cooperation throughout this study.

Funding

This study has been funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (DPS2008-06999); Presidencia del Gobierno de España, Consejo Superior de Deportes (21/UPB20/10); and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (MICINN-FEDER).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Functional Biology, Universidad de Oviedo, Campus del Cristo B. Julián Clavería s/n, Asturias, Spain

    Hugo Olmedillas

  2. GENUD (Growth, Exercise, NUtrition and Development) Research Group, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    Alejandro Gonzalez-Agüero, Luis Gracia-Marco, Alba Gomez-Cabello, Luís A. Moreno, José A. Casajús & Germán Vicente-Rodríguez

  3. Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences (FCSD), Department of Physiatry and Nursing, University of Zaragoza, Ronda Misericordia 5, 22001, Huesca, Spain

    Alejandro Gonzalez-Agüero, José A. Casajús & Germán Vicente-Rodríguez

  4. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERObn), Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Alejandro Gonzalez-Agüero, Alba Gomez-Cabello, Luís A. Moreno, José A. Casajús & Germán Vicente-Rodríguez

  5. Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Zaragoza, Spain

    Alejandro Gonzalez-Agüero, Alba Gomez-Cabello, Luís A. Moreno, José A. Casajús & Germán Vicente-Rodríguez

  6. Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón (IIS Aragón), Zaragoza, Spain

    Alejandro Gonzalez-Agüero, Alba Gomez-Cabello, Luís A. Moreno, José A. Casajús & Germán Vicente-Rodríguez

  7. Departamento de Expresión Musical, Plástica y Corporal, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud y del Deporte, Universidad de Zaragoza, C/Ronda Misericordia, 5, 22001, Huesca, Spain

    Marta Rapún-López & Francisco Pradas de la Fuente

  8. PROFITH “PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity” Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    Luis Gracia-Marco

  9. Centro Universitario de la Defensa, Zaragoza, Spain

    Alba Gomez-Cabello

  10. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    Luís A. Moreno

Authors
  1. Hugo Olmedillas
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  2. Alejandro Gonzalez-Agüero
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  3. Marta Rapún-López
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  4. Luis Gracia-Marco
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  5. Alba Gomez-Cabello
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  6. Francisco Pradas de la Fuente
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  7. Luís A. Moreno
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  8. José A. Casajús
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  9. Germán Vicente-Rodríguez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Germán Vicente-Rodríguez.

Ethics declarations

Written informed consent was obtained from parents and adolescents. The study was performed following the ethical guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki 1961 (2000 Edinburgh revision). The Ethics Committee of Clinical Research for the Government of Aragón (CEICA; Spain) approved the study protocol.

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Olmedillas, H., Gonzalez-Agüero, A., Rapún-López, M. et al. Bone metabolism markers and vitamin D in adolescent cyclists. Arch Osteoporos 13, 11 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11657-018-0415-y

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