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

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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., &amp; 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

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