Bone Abstracts

Objectives: To establish the correlations between the body composition, somatotypes and average bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) in young (17–18 y.o.) male living in Donbass region (Ukraine).

Materials and methods: Anthropometric and skinfold measurements were carried out. Estimations of the calcaneal BMD (g/cm²) and BMC, (r), estimated on ALOKA-5.0 DXA machine among 156 male were done. Total body fat percentage was calculated by the Mateigka (1921) equation, total body muscular mass by the Kuczmarski RJ and Flegal KM equation (2000). The correlation analysis was carried out between the anthropometric measurements and densitometry data.

Results: Densitometry reveals that both BMD and BMC were lower in D than in B persons (BMD 0.96±0.02 g/cm² in D and 1.41±0.01 g/cm² in B; BMC 67.67±2.53 r in D while 91.20±0.04 r – in B). BMD and BMC in D have no correlations with the longitudinal parameters (height, limbs length), but show the negative correlations with the transverse body parameters, such as the intercondylar distances of the elbow, knee and ankle (−0.41 to −0.50). In B the BMD was strongly inversely dependent on the pelvic length, the BMC – with the thigh length. D bear the higher body mass and lean muscular mass (71.80±2.80 and 58.20±1.66 kg) than the B (63.44±0.98 and 52.09±0.41 kg), but the B have higher body fat content (up to the 3.00% than in D, P<0.05). BMC in D directly correlates (r_x/y 0.65) with the body fat, and negatively – with the lean muscular mass (r_x/y −0.42), when in B both the BMD and BMC were predicted (r_x/y 0.27–0.51) by the lean muscular mass.

Conclusion: BMC in young dolychomorphes directly correlates with the body fat. In brachymorphes the mineral density higher than in dolychomorphes and directly correlates with the muscular content of the body.