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Has the COVID-19 pandemic compromised bone health?
Results from a study published in the American Journal of Human Biology suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had negative effects on bone tissue—including both bone mineral density in the forearm and total bone mineral content.
The study by investigators at Comenius University in Slovakia included 387 young adults whose bone health measurements were taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and 386 whose measurements were taken from September 2020 to November 2022 during the pandemic. Individuals participated in the study only once, either before or during the pandemic.
Certain lifestyle changes during the pandemic may have contributed to the lower bone mineral density and total bone mineral content that researchers observed in participants assessed during the pandemic compared with those assessed earlier.
"Our findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant bone mineral density decrease in young adults," said corresponding author Lenka Vorobeľová, Ph.D. "Additional research is needed to evaluate this pandemic-related bone tissue reduction as an important symptom of long COVID syndrome," added corresponding author Darina Falbová, Ph.D.
They also stressed that additional studies should investigate the post-pandemic risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture in older populations.
More information: Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle and bone mineral density in young adults, American Journal of Human Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24009. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajhb.24009
