Higher step count is associated with greater bone mass and strength in women but not in men

In this cross-sectional study, peripheral bone traits were examined relative to total daily steps measured with pedometer. Higher number of steps was associated with greater bone values at the calcaneus and tibia in women, but not in men. In women, dose-dependent associations at the radius were congruent with the weight-bearing bones. Introduction Habitual physical activity measured as daily steps may contribute to bone density and strength at the calcaneus and other weight-bearing bones. Methods Subgroups of 705-837 women and 480-615 men aged 31-46 years from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study participated in the present study. Participants were instructed to use pedometer for 1 week, and the total daily steps, divided into tertiles, were evaluated relative to quantitative ultrasound-measured bone traits at the calcaneus and peripheral quantitative computed tomography-measured bone traits at the tibia and radius. Analysis of covariance was used to examine the between-group differences. Results In women, significant dose-dependent between-group differences were found in the weight-bearing bones and in non-weight-bearing radius. The differences in broadband ultrasound attenuation and speed of sound at the calcaneus were 3.8 and 0.5% greater in women within the highest tertile of daily steps compared to the lowest tertile (p values for trend 8765 steps/day) had on average 1-5.4% greater bone cross-sectional area, bone mineral content (BMC), trabecular density, and bone strength index at the distal site and 1.6-2.7% greater bone areas, BMC and strength strain index (SSI) at the shaft compared to women with less daily steps (p values for trend Conclusion Observed significant positive associations between daily steps and various bone traits at the calcaneus, tibia, and radius in women suggest that habitual physical activity may benefit skeletal health in adulthood.Peer reviewe

Childhood socioeconomic status and lifetime health behaviors : The Young Finns Study

Background: Differences in health behaviors partly explain the socioeconomic gap in cardiovascular health. We prospectively examined the association between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and lifestyle factors in adulthood, and the difference of lifestyle factors according to childhood SES in multiple time points from childhood to adulthood. Methods and results: The sample comprised 3453 participants aged 3-18 years at baseline (1980) from the longitudinal Young Finns Study. The participants were followed up for 31 years (N = 1675-1930). SES in childhood was characterized as reported annual family income and classified on an 8-point scale. Diet, smoking, alcohol intake and physical activity were used as adult and life course lifestyle factors. Higher childhood SES predicted a healthier diet in adulthood in terms of lower consumption of meat (beta +/- SE -3.6 +/- 0.99, p <0.001), higher consumption of fish (1.1 +/- 0.5, p = 0.04) and higher diet score (0.14 +/- 0.044, p = 0.01). Childhood SES was also directly associated with physical activity index (0.059 +/- 0.023, p = 0.009) and inversely with the risk of being a smoker (RR 0.90 95%CI 0.85-0.95, p <0.001) and the amount of pack years (-0.47 +/- 0.18, p = 0.01). Life course level of smoking was significantly higher and physical activity index lower among those below the median childhood SES when compared with those above the median SES. Conclusions: These results show that childhood SES associates with several lifestyle factors 31 years later in adulthood. Therefore, attention could be paid to lifestyle behaviors of children of low SES families to promote cardiovascular health. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe