Table 5: Comparison of bone metabolism markers and bone quality marker between athlete and control groups, and the proportion with values over the normal range.
|
Normative range |
Control group (n = 31) |
Athlete group (n = 16) |
p-value |
|||
|
Mean |
Out of range |
Mean |
Out of range |
|||
|
Calcium (mg/dl) |
8.4 - 10.4 |
9.5 ± 0.4 |
0 (0%) |
10.0 ± 0.4 |
2 (12.5%) |
< 0.001 |
|
iPhosphate (mg/dl) |
2.5 - 4.5 |
3.9 ± 0.6 |
4 (12.9%) |
4.1 ± 0.4 |
3 (18.8%) |
0.192 |
|
sNTx (nM BCE/l) |
7.5 - 24.0 |
16.4 ± 3.8 |
1 (3.2%) |
26.7 ± 5.8 |
12 (75.0%) |
< 0.001 |
|
Total P1NP (µg/l) |
14.9 - 68.8 |
51.4 ± 17.5 |
4 (12.9%) |
76.0 ± 36.8 |
7 (43.8%) |
0.031 |
|
sPEN (pmol/ml) |
15.6 - 43.0 |
21.4 ± 6.2 |
0 (0%) |
37.4 ± 7.8 |
3 (18.8%) |
< 0.001 |
The concentration of bone metabolism markers and bone quality markers were compared using the unpaired Mann-Whitney U test. The normal ranges of each bone metabolism marker were as follows: NTx, 7.5 - 24.0 nM bone collagen equivalents [BCE]/l; total P1NP, 14.9 - 68.8 μg/l; pentosidine, 15.6 - 43.0 pmol/ml. A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.