Gender-Specific Body Composition Relationships between Adipose Tissue Distribution and Peak Bone Mineral Density in Young Chinese Adults

BACKGROUND: The relationships between adipose tissue distribution and peak bone mineral density (BMD) in young adults are still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the body composition associations between fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM), regional adipose tissue distribution, and peak BMD across a cohort of young Chinese adults. METHODS: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans were performed on 786 men and 825 women aged from 20 to 40 years old to measure the markers for whole-body LM, FM, and BMD in the lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN), and total hip (TH) areas. The android/gynoid FM ratio (A/G FMR) based on the DXA scans was calculated as an indicator of adipose tissue distribution. Pearson's correlation and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the body composition relationships between adipose tissue distribution and BMD of each skeletal site. RESULTS: The body composition characteristics were different in young males and females: a higher body FM percentage was found in females, while males had higher LM and A/G FMR. The markers for WBLM and WBFM had significant positive correlations with BMD among the linear regression analyses in both genders, while the relationships between A/G FMR and BMD were different in males and females; significant inverse associations were showed in all skeletal sites for women (standard β ranged from -0.266 to -0.170, P < 0.001 for all), but no significant relationships were found in men except for an inverse association in the LS skeletal site (standard β with -0.115, P = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: In this sample of young Chinese adults, both whole-body lean mass and fat mass had significant positive relationships with BMD in both genders. The A/G FMR, as an indicator of central adipose tissue distribution, was inversely associated with BMD, especially in females.