Skip to main content
Log in

Ethnicity and bone: a South African perspective

  • Invited Review
  • Published:
Journal of Bone and Mineral Metabolism Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 06 September 2011

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Notes

  1. Race categorization in South Africa refers to the apartheid system of population group classification into black, white, colored and Indian groups and has been retained by the post-apartheid government for demographic reasons in order to redress previous inequalities. It is only used here due to its familiarity as population descriptors.

References

  1. Grantham-McGregor S, Cheung YB, Cueto S, Glewwe P, Richter L, Strupp B (2007) Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries. Lancet 369:60–70

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Mayosi BM, Flisher AJ, Lalloo UG, Sitas F, Tollman SM, Bradshaw D (2009) The burden of non-communicable diseases in South Africa. Lancet 374:934–947

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Puoane T, Steyn K, Bradshaw D, Laubscher R, Fourie J, Lambert V, Mbananga N (2002) Obesity in South Africa: the South African demographic and health survey. Obes Res 10:1038–1048

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Parra EJ, Marcini A, Akey J, Martinson J, Batzer MA, Cooper R, Forrester T, Allison DB, Deka R, Ferrell RE, Shriver MD (1998) Estimating African American admixture proportions by use of population-specific alleles. Am J Hum Genet 63:1839–1851

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Solomon L (1968) Osteoporosis and fracture of the femoral neck in the South African Bantu. J Bone Joint Surg Br 50:2–13

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Solomon L (1979) Bone density in ageing Caucasian and African populations. Lancet 2:1326–1330

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Walker AR, Walker BF, Richardson BD (1971) Metacarpal bone dimensions in young and aged South African Bantu consuming a diet low in calcium. Postgrad Med J 47:320–325

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Dent CE, Engelbrecht HE, Godfrey RC (1968) Osteoporosis of lumbar vertebrae and calcification of abdominal aorta in women living in Durban. Br Med J 4:76–79

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Conradie M (2008) A comparative study of the determinants of bone strength and the propensity to falls in black and white South African women. DMed dissertation, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

  10. Basu D (2010) Determination of bone mass and prevalence of vertebral deformities in postmenopausal black women in South Africa. PhD dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

  11. Schnitzler CM, Pettifor JM, Mesquita JM, Bird MD, Schnaid E, Smyth AE (1990) Histomorphometry of iliac crest bone in 346 normal black and white South African adults. Bone Miner 10:183–199

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Schnitzler CM, Mesquita JM (2006) Cortical bone histomorphometry of the iliac crest in normal black and white South African adults. Calcif Tissue Int 79:373–382

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Aspray TJ, Prentice A, Cole TJ, Sawo Y, Reeve J, Francis RM (1996) Low bone mineral content is common but osteoporotic fractures are rare in elderly rural Gambian women. J Bone Miner Res 11:1019–1025

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kalla A, Fataar A, Bewerunge L (1994) Assessment of age-related bone loss in normal South African women by means of the Hologic QDR 1000 system. S Afr Med J 84:398–404

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Daniels ED, Pettifor JM, Schnitzler CM, Russell SW, Patel DN (1995) Ethnic differences in bone density in female South African nurses. J Bone Miner Res 10:359–367

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Rush EC, Goedecke JH, Jennings C, Micklesfield L, Dugas L, Lambert EV, Plank LD (2007) BMI, fat and muscle differences in urban women of five ethnicities from two countries. Int J Obes (Lond) 31:1232–1239

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Daniels ED, Pettifor JM, Schnitzler CM, Moodley GP, Zachen D (1997) Differences in mineral homeostasis, volumetric bone mass and femoral neck axis length in black and white South African women. Osteoporos Int 7:105–112

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Chantler S, Dickie K, Goedecke JH, Levitt NS, Lambert EV, Evans J, Joffe Y, Micklesfield LK (2011) Site-specific differences in bone mineral density in black and white premenopausal South African women. Osteoporos Int [Epub ahead of print]

  19. Department of Health (2003) South Africa Demographic and Health Survey, Pretoria, South Africa

  20. Goedecke JH, Levitt NS, Lambert EV, Utzschneider KM, Faulenbach MV, Dave JA, West S, Victor H, Evans J, Olsson T, Walker BR, Seckl JR, Kahn SE (2009) Differential effects of abdominal adipose tissue distribution on insulin sensitivity in black and white South African women. Obesity (Silver Spring) 17:1506–1512

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Lloyd R, Hind K, Micklesfield LK, Carroll S, Truscott JG, Parr B, Davies S, Cooke C (2010) A pilot investigation of load-carrying on the head and bone mineral density in premenopausal, black African women. J Bone Miner Metab 28:185–190

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Goedecke JH, Utzschneider K, Faulenbach MV, Rizzo M, Berneis K, Spinas GA, Dave JA, Levitt NS, Lambert EV, Olsson T, Kahn SE (2010) Ethnic differences in serum lipoproteins and their determinants in South African women. Metabolism 59:1341–1350

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Charlton KE, Steyn K, Levitt NS, Zulu JV, Jonathan D, Veldman FJ, Nel JH (2005) Diet and blood pressure in South Africa: intake of foods containing sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium in three ethnic groups. Nutrition 21:39–50

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Rosenberg L, Zhang Y, Constant D, Cooper D, Kalla AA, Micklesfield L, Hoffman M (2007) Bone status after cessation of use of injectable progestin contraceptives. Contraception 76:425–431

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Micklesfield LK, Evans J, Norris SA, Lambert EV, Jennings C, Joffe Y, Levitt NS, Goedecke JH (2010) Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and anthropometric estimates of visceral fat in Black and White South African Women. Obesity (Silver Spring) 18:619–624

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Dugas LR, Cohen R, Carstens MT, Schoffelen PF, Luke A, Durazo-Arvizu RA, Goedecke JH, Levitt NS, Lambert EV (2009) Total daily energy expenditure in black and white, lean and obese South African women. Eur J Clin Nutr 63:667–673

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Richter L, Norris S, Pettifor J, Yach D, Cameron N (2007) Cohort Profile: Mandela’s children: the 1990 Birth to Twenty study in South Africa. Int J Epidemiol 36:504–511

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. McVeigh JA, Norris SA, Cameron N, Pettifor JM (2004) Associations between physical activity and bone mass in black and white South African children at age 9 yr. J Appl Physiol 97:1006–1012

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Nyati LH, Norris SA, Cameron N, Pettifor JM (2006) Effect of ethnicity and sex on the growth of the axial and appendicular skeleton of children living in a developing country. Am J Phys Anthropol 130:135–141

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Micklesfield LK, Norris SA, Pettifor JM (2011) Determinants of bone size and strength in 13-year-old South African children: the influence of ethnicity, sex and pubertal maturation. Bone 48:777–785

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Thandrayen K, Norris SA, Pettifor JM (2009) Fracture rates in urban South African children of different ethnic origins: the Birth to Twenty Cohort. Osteoporos Int 20:47–52

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Clark EM, Ness AR, Bishop NJ, Tobias JH (2006) Association between bone mass and fractures in children: a prospective cohort study. J Bone Miner Res 21:1489–1495

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Schnitzler CM, Mesquita JM, Pettifor JM (2009) Cortical bone development in black and white South African children: iliac crest histomorphometry. Bone 44:603–611

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Micklesfield LK, Norris SA, Nelson DA, Lambert EV, van der Merwe L, Pettifor JM (2007) Comparisons of body size, composition, and whole body bone mass between North American and South African children. J Bone Miner Res 22:1869–1877

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Micklesfield LK, Norris SA, van der Merwe L, Lambert EV, Beck T, Pettifor JM (2009) Comparison of site-specific bone mass indices in South African children of different ethnic groups. Calcif Tissue Int 85:317–325

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Vidulich L, Norris SA, Cameron N, Pettifor JM (2006) Differences in bone size and bone mass between black and white 10-year-old South African children. Osteoporos Int 17:433–440

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Binkley TL, Berry R, Specker BL (2008) Methods for measurement of pediatric bone. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 9:95–106

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Hind K, Burrows M (2007) Weight-bearing exercise and bone mineral accrual in children and adolescents: a review of controlled trials. Bone 40:14–27

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Micklesfield L, Rosenberg L, Cooper D, Hoffman M, Kalla A, Stander I, Lambert E (2003) Bone mineral density and lifetime physical activity in South African women. Calcif Tissue Int 73:463–469

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Norris SA, Sheppard ZA, Griffiths PL, Cameron N, Pettifor JM (2008) Current socio-economic measures, and not those measured during infancy, affect bone mass in poor urban South African children. J Bone Miner Res 23:1409–1416

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. McVeigh JA, Norris SA, Pettifor JM (2007) Bone mass accretion rates in pre- and early-pubertal South African black and white children in relation to habitual physical activity and dietary calcium intakes. Acta Paediatr 96:874–880

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Pietrobelli A, Faith MS, Wang J, Brambilla P, Chiumello G, Heymsfield SB (2002) Association of lean tissue and fat mass with bone mineral content in children and adolescents. Obes Res 10:56–60

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Frost HM (2001) From Wolff’s law to the Utah paradigm: insights about bone physiology and its clinical applications. Anat Rec 262:398–419

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Frost HM (2000) Muscle, bone, and the Utah paradigm: a 1999 overview. Med Sci Sports Exerc 32:911–917

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Iuliano-Burns S, Hopper J, Seeman E (2009) The age of puberty determines sexual dimorphism in bone structure: a male/female co-twin control study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 94:1638–1643

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Nelson DA, Pettifor JM, Barondess DA, Cody DD, Uusi-Rasi K, Beck TJ (2004) Comparison of cross-sectional geometry of the proximal femur in white and black women from Detroit and Johannesburg. J Bone Miner Res 19:560–565

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Berenson AB, Rahman M, Wilkinson G (2009) Racial difference in the correlates of bone mineral content/density and age at peak among reproductive-aged women. Osteoporos Int 20:1439–1449

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Looker AC, Melton LJ III, Harris T, Borrud L, Shepherd J, McGowan J (2009) Age, gender, and race/ethnic differences in total body and subregional bone density. Osteoporos Int 20:1141–1149

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Finkelstein JS, Sowers M, Greendale GA, Lee ML, Neer RM, Cauley JA, Ettinger B (2002) Ethnic variation in bone turnover in pre- and early perimenopausal women: effects of anthropometric and lifestyle factors. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 87:3051–3056

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Harris SS, Eccleshall TR, Gross C, Dawson-Hughes B, Feldman D (1997) The vitamin D receptor start codon polymorphism (FokI) and bone mineral density in premenopausal American black and white women. J Bone Miner Res 12:1043–1048

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Nelson DA, Vande Vord PJ, Wooley PH (2000) Polymorphism in the vitamin D receptor gene and bone mass in African-American and white mothers and children: a preliminary report. Ann Rheum Dis 59:626–630

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Katzmarzyk PT, Bray GA, Greenway FL, Johnson WD, Newton RL Jr, Ravussin E, Ryan DH, Smith SR, Bouchard C (2010) Racial differences in abdominal depot-specific adiposity in white and African American adults. Am J Clin Nutr 91:7–15

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Rahman M, Berenson AB (2010) Racial difference in lean mass distribution among reproductive-aged women. Ethn Dis 20:346–352

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Dhanwal DK, Dennison EM, Harvey NC, Cooper C (2011) Epidemiology of hip fracture: worldwide geographic variation. Indian J Orthop 45:15–22

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Bell NH, Shary J, Stevens J, Garza M, Gordon L, Edwards J (1991) Demonstration that bone mass is greater in black than in white children. J Bone Miner Res 6:719–723

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Nelson DA, Simpson PM, Johnson CC, Barondess DA, Kleerekoper M (1997) The accumulation of whole body skeletal mass in third- and fourth-grade children: effects of age, gender, ethnicity, and body composition. Bone 20:73–78

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. McCormick DP, Ponder SW, Fawcett HD, Palmer JL (1991) Spinal bone mineral density in 335 normal and obese children and adolescents: evidence for ethnic and sex differences. J Bone Miner Res 6:507–513

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Hui SL, Dimeglio LA, Longcope C, Peacock M, McClintock R, Perkins AJ, Johnston CC Jr (2003) Difference in bone mass between black and white American children: attributable to body build, sex hormone levels, or bone turnover? J Clin Endocrinol Metab 88:642–649

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Wetzsteon RJ, Hughes JM, Kaufman BC, Vazquez G, Stoffregen TA, Stovitz SD, Petit MA (2009) Ethnic differences in bone geometry and strength are apparent in childhood. Bone 44:970–975

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Leonard MB, Elmi A, Mostoufi-Moab S, Shults J, Burnham JM, Thayu M, Kibe L, Wetzsteon RJ, Zemel BS (2010) Effects of sex, race, and puberty on cortical bone and the functional muscle bone unit in children, adolescents, and young adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 95:1681–1689

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. Jones LL, Griffiths PL, Norris SA, Pettifor JM, Cameron N (2009) Age at menarche and the evidence for a positive secular trend in urban South Africa. Am J Hum Biol 21:130–132

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Anderson SE, Dallal GE, Must A (2003) Relative weight and race influence average age at menarche: results from two nationally representative surveys of US girls studied 25 years apart. Pediatrics 111:844–850

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Prentice S, Fulford AJ, Jarjou LM, Goldberg GR, Prentice A (2010) Evidence for a downward secular trend in age of menarche in a rural Gambian population. Ann Hum Biol 37:717–721

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Kimani-Murage EW, Kahn K, Pettifor JM, Tollman SM, Dunger DB, Gomez-Olive XF, Norris SA (2010) The prevalence of stunting, overweight and obesity, and metabolic disease risk in rural South African children. BMC Public Health 10:158

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Poopedi MA, Norris SA, Pettifor JM (2011) Factors influencing the vitamin D status of 10-year-old urban South African children. Public Health Nutr 14:334–339

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Kannus P, Parkkari J, Sievanen H, Heinonen A, Vuori I, Jarvinen M (1996) Epidemiology of hip fractures. Bone 18:57S–63S

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. Ferrari S, Rizzoli R, Slosman D, Bonjour JP (1998) Familial resemblance for bone mineral mass is expressed before puberty. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 83:358–361

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Wunsche K, Wunsche B, Fahnrich H, Mentzel HJ, Vogt S, Abendroth K, Kaiser WA (2000) Ultrasound bone densitometry of the os calcis in children and adolescents. Calcif Tissue Int 67:349–355

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. McMurdo ME, Mole PA, Paterson CR (1997) Controlled trial of weight bearing exercise in older women in relation to bone density and falls. BMJ 314:569

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. Gilsanz V, Skaggs DL, Kovanlikaya A, Sayre J, Loro ML, Kaufman F, Korenman SG (1998) Differential effect of race on the axial and appendicular skeletons of children. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 83:1420–1427

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  71. Horlick M, Thornton J, Wang J, Levine LS, Fedun B, Pierson RN Jr (2000) Bone mineral in prepubertal children: gender and ethnicity. J Bone Miner Res 15:1393–1397

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lisa K. Micklesfield.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00774-011-0315-3

About this article

Cite this article

Micklesfield, L.K., Norris, S.A. & Pettifor, J.M. Ethnicity and bone: a South African perspective. J Bone Miner Metab 29, 257–267 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00774-011-0269-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00774-011-0269-5

Keywords

Navigation