Figure 13.

Peak value for bone mineral density (BMD) in third decade of life contributes to the age in later life at which threshold for osteoporosis is passed. The higher the peak value for BMD, the later age in life delays age at which BMD reaches the osteoporosis threshold, below which osteoporosis is diagnosed. The upper line reflects a population that had high bone-loading physical activities throughout lifespan with genes predisposing to high bone strength in contrast to the lower line reflecting low lifetime bone loading with genes predisposing to low bone strength. Adapted from Rizzoli et al. (438) who modified original figure of Hernandez et al. (235). [Reproduced with permission from (438)].