Association of vigorous physical activity with age-related, site-specific loss of thigh muscle in women: the HIREGASAKI study

Abstract

S keletal muscle mass, which is mostly located in the lower body, constitutes approximately 40% of fat-free body mass in young adults 1 but decreases with advancing age, especially after the fifth decade of life. 2 These age-related changes lead to a decline of strength and power, a decrease in physical performance, and disability. 3 Because the population of elderly people is growing in most countries, including Japan, the agerelated loss of skeletal muscle mass is likely to have a severe economic impact on the healthcare system.Age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass (Sarcopenia) has been studied extensively by evaluating muscle volume, muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), and anatomical muscle thickness (MTH). 4 Recently, Abe and colleagues demonstrated that age is associated with site-specific loss of skeletal muscle mass in Japanese men and women 5,6 and in German men 7 . Interestingly, in the anterior and posterior regions of the thigh, age-related muscle loss was observed in the quadriceps but not in the hamstrings and adductors. 8 The etiology of sitespecific sarcopenia is multifactorial and complex. Several factors have been implicated such as declining anabolic hormone concentrations, nutritional deficiencies, chronic inflammation, and insulin resistance. 5,7 Decreased physical activity levels that occur with aging also contribute to sarcopenia. It is well established that hormonal receptors for mRNA and transcriptional activity are increased 8 and that there is reduced insulin resistance 9 in exercising muscles following an acute bout of exercise for sedentary individuals. There are therefore many important interrelationships between physical activity levels and other etiologic factors associated with health and aging that may contribute in varying degrees to the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass in older populations. More recently, we examined the effect of habitual physical activity on age-related loss of skeletal muscle and found that there is site-specific loss in both active (more than once a week) and inactive old women. 10 In that study, the subjects were classified into active and inactive groups based on their self-reported habitual physical activity. The effect of exercise intensity and duration of daily physical activities on site-specific loss of thigh muscle is unknown. However, muscle mass and strength losses associated with increasing age

Site-specific Associations Of Muscle Thickness With Bone Mineral Density In Middle-aged And Older Men And Women

“…In a typical pattern of daily life, the anterior upper leg muscle is active for only a short period of time (1-3 h) and at relatively low intensities (3-11% of maximum voluntary isometric contraction) (18). Previously, we have shown that the duration of vigorous daily physical activity is positively correlated with anterior upper leg MT, but not with light or moderate physical activity (22). These results support our findings as well as our previous studies (12,28) that greater strain magnitude via vigorous daily activity may provide an effective osteoanabolic stimulus for men and women.…”

Age-related site-specific muscle wasting of upper and lower extremities and trunk in Japanese men and women

“…Muscle activation levels while walking on a downward slope and jogging are greater in the posterior upper-leg muscle compared with those in the anterior upper leg (Sawai et al 2006). In addition, a recent study reported that the ratio of anterior to posterior upper-leg MTH was inversely correlated to duration of vigorous physical activity in middle-aged and older women (Ogawa et al 2012b). Furthermore, we recently examined whether chronic vigorous exercise (master athletes) prevents site-specific upper-leg muscle loss experienced in sedentary adults and found that the anterior/posterior MTH ratio was similar between master athletes (cyclists and swimmers) and young active men (unpublished observation).…”

Measurement of maximal isometric torque and muscle quality of the knee extensors and flexors in healthy 50‐ to 70‐year‐old women

“…The anterior compartment (extensors) declined by 5·7% ( P = 0·005), while the posterior compartment (flexors) had a non‐statistically significant 3·2% decline ( P = 0·20). Preferential atrophy in the anterior compartment of the upper leg has since been supported by studies using larger cohorts of older adults (Ogawa et al ., ; Maden‐Wilkinson et al ., ) and is lightly a contributing factor to preferential decline in knee extensor torque in the current investigation.…”