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Circulating Levels of Inflammation and the Effect on Exercise-Related Changes in Bone Mass, Structure and Strength in Middle-Aged and Older Men

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Abstract

Chronic, low-grade systematic inflammation has been associated with bone loss and increased fracture risk. We previously reported that exercise improved femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD), geometry and strength and lumbar spine trabecular BMD in middle-aged and older men, but had no effect on markers of inflammation. The aim of this study was to examine the association between basal inflammatory status and the adaptive skeletal responses to exercise. Secondary analysis was completed on 91 men aged 50–79 years who participated in an 18-month program of progressive resistance training plus weight-bearing impact exercise (3 day/week) with and without additional calcium–vitamin D3. Markers of inflammation (serum hs-CRP, TNF-α and IL-6) and DXA and QCT-derived BMD, bone structure and strength at the lumbar spine and proximal femur were measured at baseline and 18 months. Multiple regression was used to assess associations between skeletal changes and both baseline levels of individual inflammatory markers and a composite inflammatory index derived from the number of markers categorized into the highest tertile. Baseline serum hs-CRP, TNFα and IL-6 and the composite inflammatory index score were not associated with skeletal changes at any site after adjusting for age, change in lean mass, disease(s)/medication use and adherence to the exercise intervention. In conclusion, this study indicates that basal inflammatory status does not influence the osteogenic response to exercise training in healthy middle-aged and older men.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Scheme. R.M.D. was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Career Development Award (ID 425849). We thank the City of Greater Geelong and Ocean View Health Club for their generous provision of the gymnasium facilities used throughout the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Geelong, Melbourne, VIC, 3215, Australia

    Jack Dalla Via, Rachel L. Duckham, Sonja Kukuljan, Caryl A. Nowson & Robin M. Daly

  2. Australian Institute of Musculoskeletal Science (AIMSS), St. Albans, Melbourne, Australia

    Rachel L. Duckham

  3. School of Biomedical Sciences and Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

    Jonathan M. Peake

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  1. Jack Dalla Via
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  4. Sonja Kukuljan
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  6. Robin M. Daly
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Contributions

R.M.D and C.A.N designed the study; R.M.D is guarantor; S.K conducted the research; J.M.P completed the cytokines analysis; J.D.V, R.L.D and R.M.D wrote the manuscript; J.D.V and R.L.D were responsible for the statistical analysis of the data. All authors revised the paper critically for intellectual content and approved the final version. All authors agree to be accountable for the work and to ensure that any questions relating to the accuracy and integrity of the paper are investigated and properly resolved.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robin M. Daly.

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Conflict of interest

Jack Dalla Via, Rachel L. Duckham, Jonathan M. Peake, Sonja Kukuljan, Caryl A. Nowson and Robin M. Daly have any conflicts of interest to declare.

Human and Animal Rights

Ethical Approval was obtained from the Deakin University Human Ethics Committee and Barwon Health Human Research Ethics Committee. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study prior to participation.

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Dalla Via, J., Duckham, R.L., Peake, J.M. et al. Circulating Levels of Inflammation and the Effect on Exercise-Related Changes in Bone Mass, Structure and Strength in Middle-Aged and Older Men. Calcif Tissue Int 104, 50–58 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-018-0475-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-018-0475-4

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