Ultrasound Muscle Assessment and Nutritional Status in Institutionalized Older Adults: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Muscle thickness, measured by ultrasonography, has been investigated for nutritional assessment in older adults, however the associations between muscle ultrasound parameters in the lower limb and nutritional status have not been studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between muscle thickness echo intensity (EI), and nutritional status in home care residents. A cross sectional study was conducted involving 19 older adults from a home care in Malaga (Spain). We evaluated lower leg muscles by ultrasound, anthropometric data, physical function (measured by gait speed and the Short Physical Performance Battery), strength (handgrip and knee extensors strength) and nutritional status across the Mini-Nutritional Assessment Short-Form (MNA-SF). We found that muscle thickness assessed by ultrasonography independently predicts nutritional status by MNA-SF and after adjusting for handgrip strength or age and sex. As secondary findings, we found relations between strength, functional capacity and the MNA-SF test. These results suggest that lower leg muscle ultrasound parameters could be used as a low-cost objective method for muscle evaluation in nutritional assessment in older adults.

Evaluation of Muscle Mass and Stiffness with Limb Ultrasound in COVID-19 Survivors

“…Our finding is in line with the study by Mateos-Angulo et al. ( 54 ) that detected an association between MNA-SF and muscle thickness, measured with ultrasonography, in istitutionalized older adults.…”

“…Muscle ultrasound is a simple and non-expensive tool to assess skeletal muscle characteristics, and could be a valuable instrument for the screening of malnutrition. Our finding is in line with the study by Mateos-Angulo et al (54) that detected an association between MNA-SF and muscle thickness, measured with ultrasonography, in istitutionalized older adults.…”

Muscle Thickness and Echogenicity Measured by Ultrasound Could Detect Local Sarcopenia and Malnutrition in Older Patients Hospitalized for Hip Fracture

“…Our study observed correlations of medium-low magnitude for the result of the ultrasounds of the arm and limb muscle groups with the nutritional screening by MNA-SF (Rho = 0.26 to 0.36). This is in line with a previous study in institutionalized older adults describing a relationship between MNA-SF and the lower limb muscles (medial gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior) measured with ultrasound [ 27 ]. About nutritional assessment by GLIM criteria, the thickness of the three muscle groups was lower in malnourished patients, but only the masseter thickness reached statistical significance in the multivariate logistic regression analysis.…”

“…Some studies have reported a high correlation between anthropometric measures and muscular mass measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry [ 25 ]. In the same way, acceptable ultrasound correlations have been observed between the muscle mass of the biceps and arm circumference [ 26 ], and between the rectus femoris thickness and calf circumference [ 27 ]. However, in a recent study [ 28 ] the correlation between calf circumference and muscle thickness of the medial gastrocnemius was non-significant in those with excess weight.…”

Muscle ultrasound: Present state and future opportunities

“…Muscle tissue content, and hence echogenicity, will also change significantly with changes in several physical parameters, such as weight, age, hand‐dominance (for upper extremity muscles) and nutritional status 37‐41 . Muscle echogenicity will not change during childhood and adolescence, even as muscle diameter increases, but in adults over 50 years the grayscale levels will progressively increase because of sarcopenia, that is the age‐related increase in fibrotic content of muscle 42 .…”