Effects of High‐impact Exercises on Bone Mineral Density, Bone Turnover Marker, Quality of Life and Depressive Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

S. Esmaeilzadeh, No Disclosures: I Have Nothing To Disclose. To investigate the effects of 6-month high-impact exercise training on bone mineral density (BMD), bone turnover marker, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women. Prospective, randomized controlled 6-month interventional study. Outpatient clinics in the Faculty Hospital. Fifty-eight eligible postmenopausal women randomly assigned to the high-impact exercise group (n=28) or control group (n=30). The patients in the high-impact group participated in a supervised training program, which consisted of the one-hour exercise session (jumped rope; 10-50 jumps/day) three times a week for six months. All participants received calcium and vitamin D supplementation. BMDs at the lumbar spine (L1-L4), femoral neck, and total femur were measured by the Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry. Bone formation rate was determined by the serum osteocalcin. HRQoL and depressive symptoms were assessed using the "Quality of Life Questionnaire of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis" and "Beck Depression Inventory", respectively. All outcome measures were conducted at baseline and 6-month. There was a significant increase in the BMD at the lumbar spine (p<.016) and femoral neck (p=.001) regions in the high-impact group compared to the control group over six months. No significant change was observed at the total femur BMD (p<.085). Serum osteocalcin increased significantly in the high-impact group compared to the controls (p<.018). HRQoL improved (p<.001) and depressive symptoms decreased (p<.001) significantly in the high-impact group compared to the controls. We conclude that the supervised high-impact exercise program increases BMD and bone formation rate in postmenopausal women. These findings also indicate that high-impact exercise training improves HRQoL and decreases depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women.