ArticleAmerican journal of physical anthropology2018
Low temperature decreases bone mass in mice: Implications for humans.
Article in American journal of physical anthropology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cold exposure and human metabolism: A heterogeneous response across tissues and organs.Temperature (Austin, Tex.) · 2026Review
- Bone Modelling and Remodelling in Cold Environment.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- A novel biomechanical model of the proximal mouse forelimb predicts muscle activity in optimal control simulations of reaching movements.Journal of neurophysiology · 2025Article
- Risk score for early prognostication of aseptic bone flap necrosis.Acta neurochirurgica · 2024Article
- Brown fat-specific mitoribosomal function is crucial for preventing cold exposure-induced bone loss.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2024Article
- Function and Regulation of Bone Marrow Adipose Tissue in Health and Disease: State of the Field and Clinical Considerations.Comprehensive Physiology · 2024Review
- Cold exposure impacts DNA methylation patterns in cattle sperm.Frontiers in genetics · 2024Article
- Small changes in thermoregulation influence cancellous bone turnover balance in distal femur metaphysis in growing female mice.Bone reports · 2023Article
- Tibial nerve stimulation increases vaginal blood perfusion and bone mineral density and yield load in ovariectomized rat menopause model.International urogynecology journal · 2022Article
- Leptin and environmental temperature as determinants of bone marrow adiposity in female mice.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Article
- Bone density and genomic analysis unfold cold adaptation mechanisms of ancient inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Sclerostin and bone remodeling biomarkers responses to whole-body cryotherapy (- 110 °C) in healthy young men with different physical fitness levels.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Osteocyte Apoptosis Contributes to Cold Exposure-induced Bone Loss.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2021Article
- Micro-CT Study of Mongolian Gerbil Humeral Bone After Prolonged Spaceflight Based on a New Algorithm for Delimitation of Long-Bone Regions.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Article
- Brown Adipose Tissue Rescues Bone Loss Induced by Cold Exposure.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Article
- Response of Bone Metabolism Markers to Ice Swimming in Regular Practitioners.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesHumans exhibit significant ecogeographic variation in bone size and shape. However, it is unclear how significantly environmental temperature influences cortical and trabecular bone, making it difficult to recognize adaptation versus acclimatization in past populations. There is some evidence that cold-induced bone loss results from sympathetic nervous system activation and can be reduced by nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) via uncoupling protein (UCP1) in brown adipose tissue (BAT). Here we test two hypotheses: (1) low temperature induces impaired cortical and trabecular bone acquisition and (2) UCP1, a marker of NST in BAT, increases in proportion to degree of low-temperature exposure.
methodsWe housed wildtype C57BL/6J male mice in pairs at 26 °C (thermoneutrality), 22 °C (standard), and 20 °C (cool) from 3 weeks to 6 or 12 weeks of age with access to food and water ad libitum (N = 8/group).
resultsCool housed mice ate more but had lower body fat at 20 °C versus 26 °C. Mice at 20 °C had markedly lower distal femur trabecular bone volume fraction, thickness, and connectivity density and lower midshaft femur cortical bone area fraction versus mice at 26 °C (p < .05 for all). UCP1 expression in BAT was inversely related to temperature. DISCUSSION: These results support the hypothesis that low temperature was detrimental to bone mass acquisition. Nonshivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue increased in proportion to low-temperature exposure but was insufficient to prevent bone loss. These data show that chronic exposure to low temperature impairs bone architecture, suggesting climate may contribute to phenotypic variation in humans and other hominins.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.