Lean and fat mass associations with areal bone mineral density in adolescent team sport athletes
Pontus Öhrner, Nicolas J. Pillon, Marcus Bohlin, Per Jönsson, Christer Malm, Michael Svensson · Journal of Bone and Mineral Metabolism · 2026
Introduction: Adolescence is a critical period for skeletal development, yet in adolescent athletes the relative contribution of lean and fat mass to areal bone mineral density (aBMD) across skeletal sites remains unclear. This cross-sectional study examined sex-specific differences in body composition and aBMD and evaluated the relative associations of lean and fat mass with aBMD in adolescent team sport athletes.
Materials and methods: Two hundred two adolescent athletes (126 boys, 76 girls; 16.4 ± 0.4 years) underwent whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Appendicular lean mass index and fat mass index were derived, and aBMD was assessed at the total body, lumbar spine (L1-L4), and femoral neck. Multivariable linear regression models with sex interaction terms and linear contrasts were applied.
Results: = 0.29, 0.18 and 0.05, respectively.
Conclusion: These
Findings: indicate that lean mass is a group-level correlate of aBMD, but the strength and separability of lean and fat mass associations vary across skeletal sites, with limited ability to distinguish their relative contributions at clinically relevant regions.