Osteoporosis & bone health

Adolescent Body Mass Index, Weight Trajectories to Adulthood, and Osteoporosis Risk

JAMA Netw OpenPublished Retrospective cohort study

Authors' conclusion

In this cohort study, BMI at a young age and its trajectory to adulthood were significantly associated with risk for osteoporosis in adult life.

Study context

Population
Israeli-born adolescents aged 16 to 19 years evaluated for military service, 1967 to 2019
Participants
1,083,491 adolescents19,400,208 person-years
Exposure
Adolescent body mass index (BMI) categories vs normal BMI
Outcome
Osteoporosis diagnosis recorded in the Maccabi Healthcare Services osteoporosis registry
Follow-up
Until 2022
Methodological detailspopulation-based, Cox proportional hazard models
  • Population-based
  • Cox proportional hazard models

Main finding

As reported in the abstract

Osteoporosis, by adolescent BMI
aHR range in women (vs normal BMI)
1.88 (95% CI, 1.74-2.04) to 0.83 (95% CI, 0.77-0.89)
aHR range in men (vs normal BMI)
1.82 (95% CI, 1.64-2.01) to 1.04 (95% CI, 0.93-1.16)

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Further findings

Osteoporosis by adolescence-to-adulthood weight trajectory

Highest risk in individuals who remained underweight from adolescence into adulthood
  • Adult BMI available for 74%

Original publication

Adolescent Body Mass Index, Weight Trajectories to Adulthood, and Osteoporosis Risk. JAMA Netw Open. Published 1 August 2025. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.25079

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