The influence of subcutaneous fat on the relationship between body composition and ultrasound-derived muscle quality

Eric D Ryan; Nicholas W Shea; Gena R Gerstner; Timothy J Barnette; Andrew J Tweedell; Craig R Kleinberg

doi:10.1139/apnm-2016-0238

The influence of subcutaneous fat on the relationship between body composition and ultrasound-derived muscle quality

Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2016 Oct;41(10):1104-1107. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2016-0238. Epub 2016 Jul 27.

Authors

Eric D Ryan^{1

2

3}, Nicholas W Shea¹, Gena R Gerstner^{1

3}, Timothy J Barnette¹, Andrew J Tweedell^{1

4}, Craig R Kleinberg¹

Affiliations

¹ a Neuromuscular Research Laboratory, Department of Exercise and Sports Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8700, USA.
² b Allied Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
³ c Human Movement Science Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
⁴ d Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, MD, USA.

PMID: 27690567
DOI: 10.1139/apnm-2016-0238

Abstract

Ultrasound echo intensity (EI) values are a popular assessment of muscle quality. The relationship between EI and total (%fat) and regional (%fat_limb) body composition was examined in 40 men, prior to and after accounting for subcutaneous fat thickness. Uncorrected EI values suggest that muscle quality improves (r = -0.329 to -0.224; P = 0.038-0.165) with greater %fat and %fat_limb. However, corrected EI values indicated that muscle quality decreases (r = 0.711 to 0.798; P < 0.001) with greater %fat and %fat_limb.

Keywords: adiposity; adiposité; echo intensity; gras intramusculaire; imagerie musculosquelettique; intensité de l’écho; intramuscular fat; limb percent fat; musculoskeletal imaging; obesity; obésité; percent fat; pourcentage de gras; pourcentage de gras segmentaire.