Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #110770

George A. Kelley, DA and Kristi S. Kelley, MEd. School of Medicine, Department of Community Medicine, West Virginia University, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, PO Box 9190, Morgantown, WV 26506-9190, 304-293-6279, gkelley@hsc.wvu.edu

The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis using individual patient data (IPD) in order to examine the efficacy of exercise for improving bone mineral density (BMD) at the femoral neck in postmenopausal women. Ten controlled clinical trials that included 595 subjects ages 42 to 92 years met our criteria for inclusion. Across all designs and categories, there was an increase in BMD of 0.73 +/- 5.52% and 0.45 +/- 6.78% respectively, in the exercise and control subjects. However, comparison of initial and final BMD values between exercise and control subjects revealed no statistically significant effect of exercise on femoral neck BMD. In addition, random-effects analyses revealed no statistically significant within or between-group differences for studies in which IPD were available versus those that were not. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that exercise is not efficacious for improving and/or maintaining femoral neck BMD in postmenopausal women. However, a need exists for additional research in this area before clinical recommendations can be made regarding the effectiveness of exercise for improving and/or maintaining femoral neck BMD in postmenopausal women.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, the participant will be able to

• Describe the current state of knowledge regarding the effects of exercise on bone mineral density at the femoral neck in postmenopausal women.
• Describe the effects of potentially confounding variables on changes in bone mineral density at the femoral neck in postmenopausal women as a result of exercise.
• Describe weaknesses in the literature and identify areas for future research dealing with the effects of exercise on bone mineral density at the femoral neck in postmenopausal women.

Keywords: Exercise, Aging

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.