Purpose: This observational study aimed to investigate the correlation between physical activity (PA) and bone mineral density (BMD) in Greek women.

Materials - Methods: 46 women (aged >45 years) participated and grouped according to their BMD into three groups: Group A (normal BMD), Group B (osteopenia), and Group C (osteoporosis). The evaluation of PA and lower limb endurance (LLE) was carried out through the Greek version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short version (IPAQ-Gr), and 30 seconds sit-to-stand (30STS) test, respectively. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Post-Hoc comparison (Tukey’s test) were used for the statistical analysis. The correlations between BMD and the variables: age, height, weight, body mass index, 30STS, and IPAQ-Gr were calculated using the Pearson’s r correlation coefficient. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

Results: The results showed that PA, as expressed with the IPAQ-Gr, has a weak and positive correlation to BMD (r=.209, p=.163). The best correlation, with a statistically significant difference, was weak and negative and found to be between the age and BMD (r=-.287, p=.05). Post-Hoc comparison demonstrated statistically significant differences in the 30STS between Group A (normal BMD) and Group C (osteoporosis) (p=.01).

Conclusions: As expected, BMD was found to be age-related, while statistically significant was the difference between LLE of women with normal BMD in relation to osteoporotic women. PA seemed to have a positive effect on BMD, although no statistically significant difference was found. However, further research needs to be conducted with larger sample size to investigate the relationship between physical activity and BMD.