Tracking of appendicular bone mineral density for 6 years including the pubertal growth spurt: Japanese Population-based Osteoporosis Kids Cohort Study

Bone development up to early adulthood plays an important role in determining the risk of osteoporosis later in life. However, bone development in children has not been fully documented by longitudinal studies in Japanese children. The purpose of this study is to determine the degree of tracking of areal bone mineral density (aBMD) from pre-puberty to 6-year follow-up, and to determine the target period to achieve maximal peak aBMD. This study was conducted as the pediatric part of a larger cohort study, the Japanese Population-based Osteoporosis (JPOS) study. Of 448 children aged 9–12 years who completed the baseline survey, 225 participated in the follow-up study 6 years later (follow-up rate: 50.2%). aBMD at the forearm was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. aBMD values in pre-pubertal children at baseline showed a significant tracking correlation with aBMD obtained at 6-year follow-up in both genders (boys r = 0.655, girls r = 0.759). Although boys and girls in the lowest quartile of aBMD pre-pubertally had greater annual increases in aBMD from pre-puberty to 6-year follow-up than those in other aBMD quartiles, they still showed the lowest mean aBMD at 6-year follow-up. Children with lower pre-pubertal aBMD showed greater increases in BMD up until 6-year follow-up, but the increase was not great enough to catch up with other children. About 50% of the variance in aBMD at 6-year follow-up was determined by the aBMD achieved during the pre-pubertal period. Activities that increase aBMD are important not only for children during puberty, but also for younger pre-pubertal children.