Influence of subcutaneous adipose tissue and skeletal muscle thickness on rectus femurs echo intensity in younger and older males and females
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Date
2022-09
Authors
Paris, Michael
Bell, Kirsten Elizabeth
Avrutin, Egor
Rosati, Katherine
Mourtzakis, Marina
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley
Abstract
Objectives—Ultrasound measurements of muscle echo intensity are commonly
used surrogates of muscle composition (eg, intramuscular adipose tissue). However,
given that soundwaves are increasingly attenuated with tissue depth, the
interpretation of echo intensity may be confounded by adipose and skeletal muscle
thickness. Our objectives are to compare the associations between adipose or
muscle tissue thickness and rectus femoris echo intensity in younger and older
males and females.
Methods—Participants included in this analysis were derived from 3 previously
published cohorts of younger (<45 years) and older (≥60 years) males and
females. Ultrasound images of the rectus femoris were evaluated for muscle
thickness, echo intensity, and subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness.
Results—Older adults (n: 49 males, 19 females) had a higher body mass index
(P = .001) compared with younger adults (n: 37 males, 49 females). Muscle
thickness was negatively associated with echo intensity in older males
(r = 0.59) and females (r = 0.53), whereas no associations were observed
in younger males (r = 0.00) or females (r = 0.11). Subcutaneous adipose tissue
thickness displayed no associations with echo intensity in any group.
Conclusions—Despite the known influence of subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness
on beam attenuation, we observed no association with muscle echo intensity,
indicating that adipose tissue correction may be required to better
understand muscle echo intensity across differences in adiposity. The negative
associations between muscle thickness and echo intensity in older, but not younger
adults, suggests these associations may be related to the co-occurrence of
skeletal muscle atrophy and intramuscular adipose tissue infiltration with
advancing age.
Description
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Paris, M. T., Bell, K. E., Avrutin, E., Rosati, K., & Mourtzakis, M. (2021). Influence of subcutaneous adipose tissue and skeletal muscle thickness on rectus femoris echo intensity in younger and older males and females. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, 41(9), 2355–2364. , which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/jum.15922. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.
Keywords
ultrasound, body composition, adiposity, echo intensity