Muscle mass reduction, low muscle strength, and their combination are associated with arterial stiffness in community-dwelling elderly population: the Wakayama Study

• Published in: Journal of human hypertension 2021-05, Vol.35 (5), p.446-454
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yan, Miyai, Nobuyuki, Abe, Kaori, Utsumi, Miyoko, Uematsu, Yuji, Terada, Kazufumi, Nakatani, Toshiaki, Takeshita, Tatsuya, Arita, Mikio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/499; 692/699/75/593/2724; Age; Aged; Ankle; Arteriosclerosis; Cardiovascular diseases; Epidemiology; Health Administration; Health aspects; Kidney diseases; Liver diseases; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Multiple regression analysis; Muscle strength; Muscles; Musculoskeletal system; Older people; Physiological aspects; Population studies; Public Health; Risk factors; Sarcopenia; Skeletal muscle
• ISSN: 0950-9240; 1476-5527
• DOI: 10.1038/s41371-020-0355-z

Age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function is associated with some predisposing factors that increase the risk of vascular damage. This study aimed to examine whether muscle mass reduction, low muscle strength, and their combination were related to arterial stiffness in community-dwelling elderly population. Study participants consisted of 1046 elderly individuals (aged 72 ± 5 years) without cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, or liver disease. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was performed to estimate appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM). A value for ASM was normalized for height (ASM index, kg/m 2 ). Handgrip strength (HGS) was measured using a Smedley grip dynamometer. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was evaluated as an index of arterial stiffness using a simple automatic oscillometric technique. When participants were stratified based on baPWV cut-off values (< 1800 cm/s, 1800 to 1999 cm/s, ≥ 2000 cm/s), ASM index and HGS progressively decreased with an increase in baPWV levels ( P for trend