Retired elite female ballet dancers and nonathletic controls have similar bone mineral density at weightbearing sites

Abstract

Elite female ballet dancers exhibit several risk factors for osteoporosis during their performing years. To study the long-term effect of this lifestyle, we compared the bone mineral density (BMD) of 101 retired elite female ballet dancers (mean age 51 years, SD = 14 years) and 101 normal controls, derived from a twin study, matched hierarchically for age, height, weight, and menopausal status. The dancers, who had been retired for a mean of 25.6 years (range 1-53 years) reported a greater prevalence of previous menstrual disturbance, greater lifetime alcohol intake and smoking, and a lower dietary milk intake in adolescence than controls (all p < 0.05). However, current exercise in the danc..