Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
Spring 2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Department
Department of Health Sciences
Advisor(s)
Jeremy D. Akers
Abstract
The relationship between psychological variables and bone mineral density (BMD) has been increasingly studied in the past few years, with research suggesting that decreased mood may play a role in decreased BMD. The purpose of this study was to determine if stress in college aged females on the James Madison University campus was related to decreased BMD. This study included 46 females between the ages of 18-24, who were currently enrolled in the Fall of 2015. All participants completed a medical questionnaire, 24-hour dietary recall, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS). Participants’ BMD in the femoral neck and lumbar spine were measured using Dual X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA). Descriptives, bivariate correlations, and partial correlations were used for statistical analysis. There were no significant results between stress, as measured by the PSS and DASS, and low BMD in either the hip or spine. Significance was found between the number of days of cardiovascular activity performed each week and femur T and BMD scores (p=0.036, 0.027). A trend was seen between days of cardiovascular activity and femur Z score (p=0.0051). While no significant findings supported a relationship between stress and BMD, more research is required to examine further a possible association.
Recommended Citation
Berardini, Grace C., "The effect of stress on bone mineral density in college aged females" (2016). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019. 226.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/226
