Women in Osteology

A special issue of Osteology (ISSN 2673-4036).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 8285

Special Issue Editor

MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton SO15 3BX, UK
Interests: ageing; bone density; bone strength; clinical medicine; epidemiology; osteoarthritis; osteoporosis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last year, women have led ground-breaking research into public health, vaccines, treatments, and innovative technology and been on the front lines of the COVID-19 response as scientists and healthcare workers. To date, countless women have made historical contributions to bone research, with many influential female researchers from this field. In order to embrace gender equality, recognize the career progression of women, and to celebrate the achievements of women in the field of bone research, our journal will launch a Special Issue on “Women in Osteology”. For this edition, contributions in which women are the corresponding authors of the manuscripts are strongly encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Elaine Dennison
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Osteology is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Bone-related diseases, including arthritis, fractures, infections, osteoporosis, tumors, etc.
  • Molecular mechanisms research on bone and bone-related diseases
  • Interactions of bone with other organ systems, including cartilage, muscle, neural, etc.
  • Biological and physiological research on bone, cartilage, joints, and spine
  • Clinical studies
  • Methodological advances in osteology
  • Bone biomaterials
  • Interactions of bone with prosthesis
  • Bone mechanics

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Other

10 pages, 268 KiB  
Article
What Are the Barriers to Adoption of a Lifestyle Associated with Optimal Peak Bone Mass Acquisition? A Qualitative Study of Young Adults in New Zealand
by Sana Zafar, Hayley Denison, Hansa Patel and Elaine Dennison
Osteology 2022, 2(1), 31-40; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/osteology2010004 - 08 Feb 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2364
Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the barriers to adopting lifestyle factors other than physical activity important for optimal peak bone mass (PBM) acquisition—namely, dietary factors, avoidance of cigarette smoking, and keeping alcohol consumption within recommended limits. Materials and Methods: University students and [...] Read more.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the barriers to adopting lifestyle factors other than physical activity important for optimal peak bone mass (PBM) acquisition—namely, dietary factors, avoidance of cigarette smoking, and keeping alcohol consumption within recommended limits. Materials and Methods: University students and staff aged 18–35 years were recruited. Six semi-structured, in-depth focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 28 participants. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. A thematic approach for data analysis using a constant comparative method was performed using NVivo software. Results: Three major themes emerged: socio-cultural barriers (peer pressure and cultural norms); personal barriers (time, cost, and diet preferences); and other barriers (medical illness and lack of symptoms associated with low bone mass density). Conclusions: We identified several barriers to adoption of lifestyle behaviours that might be beneficial to PBM acquisition. These data might facilitate the development of public health interventions designed to help young adults embrace osteoprotective lifestyles, and hence reduce the burden of osteoporotic fracture in later life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women in Osteology)
9 pages, 1581 KiB  
Article
Ecological Study of Fractures in Paediatric Melanesian Communities with Varying Endemic Environmental Fluoride Exposure
by Webb Elizabeth, Ahmad Elmansouri, Rebecca Ross, Michael Clynes, Jenny Tangis, Carol Stewart and Elaine M. Dennison
Osteology 2021, 1(3), 132-140; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/osteology1030014 - 30 Jul 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2705
Abstract
Introduction: Osteoporotic fracture is a major public health burden worldwide, causing significant mortality and morbidity. Studies that have reported bone health in areas of high endemic fluorosis have commonly reported adverse skeletal, as well as dental effects. Vanuatu, sited in the Pacific, and [...] Read more.
Introduction: Osteoporotic fracture is a major public health burden worldwide, causing significant mortality and morbidity. Studies that have reported bone health in areas of high endemic fluorosis have commonly reported adverse skeletal, as well as dental effects. Vanuatu, sited in the Pacific, and never previously studied with regard to bone health, has six continuous degassing volcanoes on separate islands, resulting in a natural experiment for an ecological study of relationships between naturally occurring fluoride exposure and fracture incidence in paediatric populations. Methods: This ecological study recruited 1026 lifetime residents of the rural Vanuatu islands. A short questionnaire was administered detailing gender, age, and residential history. Participants were asked if they had broken a bone and, if so, were asked to mark its location on a questionnaire manikin. Dental fluorosis was assessed using Dean’s index. Community drinking-water samples were sampled for fluoride concentration. Results: The measured water fluoride concentration and recorded dental fluorosis displayed expected gradients from Aneityum (low) to Ambrym (high) (p < 0.001). The age of participants studied varied from 7.8 (SD 1.2) in Aneityum to 10.6 (3.7) in Lamap/Uliveo. The highest self-reported fracture rates were recorded in the area with medium fluoride levels (Lamap/Uliveo), where 14.9% of boys and 15.6% of girls sampled reported a fracture. In Ambrym, where the mean age of participants was similar, corresponding fracture rates were 4.5% and 2.6%. (p value for differences all < 0.05). Conclusions: Reports of fractures were common in children living in Vanuatu, but demonstrably higher in Lamap, the region with medium fluoride concentrations, rather than Ambrym which had very high rates of naturally occurring fluoride levels. Longer term studies that report validated fracture after peak bone mass acquisition are required. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women in Osteology)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research

11 pages, 416 KiB  
Brief Report
Establishing a Resource to Assess Musculoskeletal Health in Older Adults in the Post-COVID-19 Era: Time to SaLSA?
by Faidra Laskou, Alexander Linfield, Pritti Aggarwal, Elaine M. Dennison and Harnish P. Patel
Osteology 2022, 2(1), 41-51; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/osteology2010005 - 28 Feb 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2224
Abstract
Sarcopenia and osteoporosis are associated with morbidity and mortality. The development and progression of these two interrelated conditions are related to genetic and lifestyle factors, including nutrition and physical activity. Restrictions placed on individuals due to the COVID-19 pandemic and infection have led [...] Read more.
Sarcopenia and osteoporosis are associated with morbidity and mortality. The development and progression of these two interrelated conditions are related to genetic and lifestyle factors, including nutrition and physical activity. Restrictions placed on individuals due to the COVID-19 pandemic and infection have led to widespread lifestyle modifications, with data suggesting a negative impact on physical activity levels. There is an urgent need to understand the effect of the pandemic on musculoskeletal health in older adults, at a time when COVID-19 infection and restrictions remain a barrier to research studies. We tested the feasibility of recruiting local community-dwelling older people to establish a new cohort investigating musculoskeletal health—the Southampton Longitudinal Study of Ageing (SaLSA). We invited 1993 community-dwelling older adults registered at the Living Well GP partnership in Southampton, UK, to participate in a study. Questionnaires were completed by participants on health, lifestyle, medication use, comorbidities, physical activity, nutrition, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and quality of life. Permission was sought for future contact. Descriptive statistics were used on the initial pilot of 175 returned questionnaire data. The median age of participants was 80.4 years in both sexes, 81.3 years (77.9–84) in females, and 81.1 years in males (77.3–83.6). The majority (N = 168/171, 98%) of participants were of white Caucasian background; 36/53 (68%) female participants and 38/119 (32%) male participants lived alone. Over 80% (295/353) consented to be contacted for future studies. Recruitment of participants from a primary care practice into a research study was feasible. The next steps are to perform detailed musculoskeletal phenotyping through physical performance measures, grip strength dynamometry, DXA scanning, high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HRpQCT), thigh ultrasound, and muscle biopsy, in a subset of participants. Our vision for SaLSA is to build a platform for discovery science and mechanistic studies, with the goal of improving the health care of older people. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women in Osteology)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop