TITLE:
Relationship between Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry-Derived Appendicular Lean Tissue Mass and Total Body Skeletal Muscle Mass Estimated by Ultrasound
AUTHORS:
Takashi Abe, Nicole C. Dabbs, Vinayak K. Nahar, M. Allison Ford, Martha A. Bass, Mark Loftin
KEYWORDS:
Body Composition; Skeletal Muscle Mass; Sarcopenia; B-Mode Ultrasonography
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Clinical Medicine,
Vol.4 No.6,
June
4,
2013
ABSTRACT: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is an
attractive method for evaluating sarcopenia, age-related
loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, using
appendicular lean tissue (aLT) mass for criteria of diagnosis, although minimal
radiation is exposed. Skeletal muscle (SM) mass can be
estimated by using ultrasound-measured muscle thickness (MTH). However, the
association between these two methods is unclear. To examine the relationship
between DXA-derived aLT mass and total body SM mass estimated by ultrasound,
thirty-six healthy adults (18 men and 18 women) aged 19 - 65 years
participated in this study. Ultrasound-measured muscle thickness was used to
estimate the total SM mass. DXA was used to estimate whole body and regional
body composition, and aLT mass was considered equivalent to the sum of lean
tissue in both the right and left arms and legs. Total
SM mass (26.3 ± 4.4 kg for
men and 15.7 ± 2.6 kg for
women) estimated by ultrasound was similar to DXA-estimated aLT mass (24.5 ± 3.8 kg for men and 15.7 ± 2.7 kg for women). There was a strong
correlation between DXA-measured aLT mass and total SM mass estimated by
ultrasound in men (r = 0.927, n = 18) and women (r = 0.931, n = 18) as well as
overall sample (r = 0.975, n = 36). The ratio of total SM mass to aLT mass was
1.07 for men and 1.00 for women. These results suggest that DXA-derived aLT
mass can be accurately predicted from ultrasound estimated total SM mass,
although the predicted value may underestimate in men (approximately 7% at the
group level).