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Sedentary behaviour and bone health in older adults: a systematic review

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Abstract

Older adults spend more than 8 h/day in sedentary behaviours. Detrimental effects of sedentary behaviour (SB) on health are established, yet little is known about SB and bone health (bone mineral density; BMD) in older adults. The purpose of this review is to examine associations of SB with BMD in older adults. Five electronic databases were searched: Web of Science (Core Collection); PubMed; EMBASE; Sports Medicine and Education and PsycInfo. Inclusion criteria were healthy older adults mean age ≥ 65 years; measured SB and measured BMD using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Quality was assessed using National Institute of Health Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. After excluding duplicates 17813 papers were assessed; 17757 were excluded on title/abstract, 49 at full text, resulting in two prospective and five cross-sectional observational studies reviewed. Four were rated ‘good’ and three were rated ‘fair’ using the quality assessment criteria. Findings varied across the studies and differed by gender. In women, four studies reported significant positive associations of SB with BMD at different sites, and two found significant negative associations. Five studies which examined both men and women, men reported negative or no associations of SB with femoral neck, pelvic, whole body, spine or leg BMD. Whilst these findings suggest differences between men and women in the associations of SB with BMD, they may be due to the varying anatomical sections examined for BMD, the different methods used to measure SB, the varied quality of the studies included and the limited number of published findings.

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Abbreviations

BMD:

Bone mineral density

DXA:

Dual-X-ray absorptiometry

FN:

Femoral neck

LPA:

Light physical activity

LS:

Lumbar spine

MVPA:

Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity

PA:

Physical activity

SB:

Sedentary behaviour

ST:

Sedentary time

TB:

Total body

TF:

Total femur

TH:

Total hip

TS:

Total spine

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Funding

This study was supported by a grant from the Royal Osteoporosis Society.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Activity for Health, School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

    L. McMichan, M. Dick & A. Mavroeidi

  2. Centre for Living, Department of Physiotherapy and Paramedicine, School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK

    D.A. Skelton & S.F.M. Chastin

  3. Department of Movement and Sports Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    S.F.M. Chastin

  4. Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia

    N. Owen & D.W. Dunstan

  5. Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia

    N. Owen

  6. Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia

    D.W. Dunstan

  7. Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    W.D. Fraser & J.C.Y. Tang

  8. School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    C.A. Greig & S. Agyapong-Badu

  9. MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    C.A. Greig

Authors
  1. L. McMichan
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  2. M. Dick
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  4. S.F.M. Chastin
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  5. N. Owen
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  10. S. Agyapong-Badu
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  11. A. Mavroeidi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. McMichan.

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Conflict of interest

Dawn A. Skelton is a Director of a not for profit training company, Later Life Training, which provides training to health and leisure professionals to deliver strength and balance training.

Neville Owen is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence Grant (#1057608), NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowship (#1118225), and the Victorian Government’s Operational Infrastructure Support Program. David W. Dunstan is supported by a NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship #1078360 and the Victorian Government’s Operational Infrastructure Support Program.

Lauren McMichan, Michael Dick, Sebastien F.M. Chastin, Neville Owen, David W. Dunstan, William D. Fraser, Jonathan C.Y. Tang, Carolyn A. Greig, Sandra Agyapong-Badu, and Alexandra Mavroeidi declare no conflict of interests.

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McMichan, L., Dick, M., Skelton, D. et al. Sedentary behaviour and bone health in older adults: a systematic review. Osteoporos Int 32, 1487–1497 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-021-05918-2

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