Author(s): LEE, J., LEE, S., JO, W., JANG, S., Institution: CHUNGNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, Country: KOREA, SOUTH, Abstract-ID: 1809

INTRODUCTION:
Adolescence is a critical period for achieving peak bone mass, which is essential for lifelong skeletal health. Although regular sport participation is known to promote bone development, excessive training loads combined with inadequate lifestyle factors may negatively influence biological maturation in elite adolescent athletes. This study aimed to compare sport-specific growth patterns and to examine the associations between bone maturation and lifestyle factors in male adolescent athletes.
METHODS:
Seventy-two male middle school athletes (mean age at baseline: 13.3 years) participating in basketball (n = 30), taekwondo (n = 17), and soccer (n = 25) were assessed twice over a one-year period. Growth status was evaluated using height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), bone age (Tanner-Whitehouse 3), and bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Lifestyle factors included physical activity volume and intensity assessed by accelerometers; nutritional intake assessed using 3-day dietary records; sleep duration and quality assessed by the Korean version of the Pittsburgh sleep quality index; and stress assessed by the standardized self-report scale and heart rate variability. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare sport-specific changes in growth variables. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationships between lifestyle factors and changes in bone maturation.
RESULTS:
Height, body weight, and BMI increased significantly over time in all sports, with no significant sport-by-time interaction. In contrast, bone age and BMD demonstrated significant sport-specific interaction effects. Basketball and soccer athletes showed greater increases in bone age and bone mineral density over one year, whereas taekwondo athletes exhibited relatively smaller increases. Taekwondo athletes also engaged in more very vigorous physical activity, had lower calcium intake, and reported shorter sleep duration compared with the other groups. Sleep duration was positively associated with changes in bone age, while very vigorous physical activity showed a weak but significant negative association. Multiple regression analysis identified sleep duration as the strongest predictor of changes in bone age.
CONCLUSION:
Bone maturation in male adolescent athletes appears to be influenced by sport-specific training characteristics and lifestyle factors, particularly sleep duration. These findings emphasize the importance of optimizing training load and recovery-related behaviors to support healthy growth during adolescence.