Bone health across the lifecourse of rowers who are elite athletes

Bone responds to loads, where increased loads leads to denser bones. Hence certain exercises are very important and have a positive effect on bones. For instance, swimming is a non-weight bearing sport and has little - no effect on bones. While weight-lifting is a weight bearing sport and has a very beneficial effect on bones. There is conflicting evidence on whether rowing is beneficial for areal bone mineral density (aBMD) as it is in between a weight bearing and non-weight bearing sport. The effects of elite rowing on aBMD at various ages is unknown. Our study aims to look at the effects of rowing on aBMD at an elite level across the lifecourse. Our study will determine the effects of rowing on aBMD across three groups: - current rowers aged 16-23 years - retiring rowers aged 28-45 years - retired rowers aged 45-80 years Study design: This study is in collaboration with an exercise cardiologist at The Baker (ProAFHeart Study). Elite athletes have been recruited from a database of athletes who competed at State, National or International level for 10 or more years. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measured aBMD (whole body, total hip and lumbar spine) and body composition where corrections for body size were made by dividing by height squared (kg/m2) giving fat mass index (FMI) and appendicular lean mass index (ALMI). VO2max (mL/kg/min) was assessed to determine cardiorespiratory fitness. Fasting blood samples were collected to assess lipids and kidney function. Data has already been collected from study participants.