Comparison of muscle quality and functional capacity between Japanese and Brazilian older individuals

Abstract

Muscle quality is well-known to decrease with aging and is a risk factor for metabolic abnormalities. However, there is a lack of information on race-associated differences in muscle quality and other neuromuscular features related to functional performance. This study aimed to compare muscle quality, function, and morphological characteristics in Japanese and Brazilian older individuals. Eighty-four participants aged 65–87 years were enrolled in the study (42 Japanese: 23 men, 19 women, mean age 70.4 years; 42 Brazilians: 23 men, 19 women, mean age 70.8 years). Echo intensity (EI) and muscle thickness (MT) of the quadriceps femoris were measured using B-mode ultrasonography. A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis with EI as a dependent variable revealed that MT was a significant variable for Japanese participants (R2 = 0.424, P = 0.001), while MT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SCAT) thickness were significant variables for Brazilian participants (R2 = 0.490, P = 0.001). A second stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed after excluding MT and SCAT thickness from the independent variables. Sex and age for Japanese participants (R2 = 0.381, P = 0.001) and lean body mass and body mass index for Brazilian participants (R2 = 0.385, P = 0.001) were identified as significant independent variables. The present results suggest that MT is closely correlated with muscle quality in Japanese and Brazilian older individuals. Increases in muscle size may induce decreases in intramuscular adipose tissue and/or connective tissues, which are beneficial for reducing the risks of metabolic impairments in Japanese and Brazilian older individuals.

Meta-Analysis on the Association between Echo Intensity, Muscle Strength, and Physical Function in Older Individuals

“…Thirteen studies (620 participants) investigated the association between EI and the chair stand test. 11 - 14 , 21 , 29 , 32 , 35 - 37 ) The combined effect size of EI and 30SS was r=0.07 (95% CI, -0.04 to 0.18; p=0.22; I 2 =86.64), with a weak statistical correlation and considerable heterogeneity. Subgroup analyses showed a moderate negative correlation between EI and the 30SS test (r=-0.44; 95% CI, -0.59 to -0.26; p<0.001; I 2 =45.41) and between EI and the 5STS test (r=0.32; 95% CI, 0.17 to 0.46; p<0.001; I 2 =35.42), respectively.…”

“…Our meta-analysis identified a moderate correlation (r=-0.3) between EI strength and handgrip strength, consistent with the outcomes of various previous studies. 11 , 32 , 33 )…”

Normal Weight Obesity and Normal Weight Central Obesity is Associated with Geriatric Syndromes in Hospitalized Older Adults

“…In addition, it was also described that older women with NWO had greater impairment in basic activities of daily living (ADLs). Corroborating to this, evidence shows that the aging process is related to decline in muscle quality and functional capacity [50,51]. In addition, the aging process leads to abnormalities in body composition, marked by greater deposition of body fat and lower lean mass among women.…”

Cervical Multifidus and Longus Colli Ultrasound Differences among Patients with Cervical Disc Bulging, Protrusion and Extrusion and Asymptomatic Controls: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In addition, the assessment of echo intensity (EI) is considered a valuable metric that can provide important histological information about the muscles, such as adipose tissue and/or connective tissue, which present with bright pixels while muscle fibers are hypoechoic [30]. Therefore, muscles with greater mean brightness would be characterized by a greater presence of fatty infiltration [31]. In addition, there are specific reliable procedures to reduce bias associated with US settings (as there is a high inter-and intra-subject variance due to the acoustic impedance variance), which uses relative measures to estimate the percentage of fatty infiltration within a muscle in different populations [18,32,33].…”