Association Between Skeletal Muscle Mass and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Occupational Sedentary Population

Abstract

Objective: The aims of this study were to determine the association of skeletal muscle mass with three cardiovascular risk factors and explore a simple and clinically feasible indicator for identifying high-risk groups of cardiovascular diseases in occupational sedentary population. Methods: We recruited 7316 occupational sedentary participants older than 18 years from the Health Management Center of Tianjin Union Medical Center. Age-adjusted logistic regression was used to analyze the association between skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) and cardiovascular risk factors. Results: There were significant positive associations between SMI, especially arm SMI, and cardiovascular risk factors in both male and female subjects (odds ratio, 1.28 to 5.02; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that measurements of skeletal muscle mass, particularly in the arms, may help identify individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease in an occupationally sedentary population.

The role of skeletal muscle mass on cardiovascular disease risk: an emerging role on modulating lipid profile

“…However, the cross-sectional nature of the study cannot negate the potential adverse effects of CV risk factors on SMM. Albeit for the inverse reasons, arm SMM could be an easily measured tool to pinpoint those at high CVD risk even in this population, as also shown in another study [40 ▪ ,41]. Furthermore, in a study from the UK Biobank ( n = 356 590 participants, age range: 40–69 years), positive associations were also found between both fat mass and appendicular SMM with CVD risk [42].…”

“…It is noteworthy that low SMM has been associated with abnormal fat deposits in organs such as the pancreas, liver or pericardium, that are predictors of vascular risk and insulin resistance [48–50]. In the study by Knowles et al , appendicular SMM was positively associated with CVD risk even in individuals with low total fat mass and in the study by Lu et al , arm SMM was positively associated with CV risk factors, independently from visceral fat [40 ▪ ,42]. However, in the longitudinal Korean Sarcopenic Obesity Study ( n = 379 participants), baseline visceral fat was associated with loss of SMM during a 2-year period [51].…”

“…Inversely, recent evidence suggest that a large fat-free mass may adversely affect metabolic health, at least in some populations [39]. In a recently published cross-sectional study ( n = 7316 participants, 44.8% male, mean ± standard deviation age: 42.8 ± 13.8 years), conducted in China, SMM, and particularly arm SMM, was positively associated with hypertension, dyslipidaemia and hyperglycaemia in an occupationally sedentary adult population (i.e., individuals with sedentary occupations that require sitting for >6 h/day paired with no regular physical activity the rest of the day) [40 ▪ ]. The difference in the results was speculated to be attributed to the lack of body weight adjustment or the long-term sedentary lifestyle of this population, which is associated with abnormal metabolism that adversely affects CV risk.…”

Dyslipidemia in Muscular Dystrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…This chronic dyslipidemic state is likely not secondary to muscle wasting or treatment as unmedicated, unaffected carrier females with only one dystrophin allele mutation and normal CK levels also showed elevated total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-associated cholesterol, indicating a more primary dyslipidemic state intricately linked to abnormal dystrophin expression [9]. Dyslipidemia is well-documented to cause a range of conditions such as atherosclerosis in the case of high LDL or low HDL cholesterol [11] in addition to pancreatitis for hypertriglyceridemia [12] but also pathological changes to skeletal muscle tissues, including loss of muscle mass, density, strength, and fibre type switching [13][14][15]. Moreover, disruption of lipoprotein homeostasis is related to sarcopenia, cachexia, and diabetes [16][17][18][19] whereas low-fat diets were shown to improve insulin resistance in overweight adults and were associated with reductions in intramyocellular fat [20].…”