Muscle Echogenicity and Changes Related to Age and Body Mass Index
Andréa Z Pereira, Clarissa Baia Bargas Uezima, Maria Teresa Zanella, Rogério Ruscitto do Prado, Marı́a Cristina González, Jolene Zheng, Steven B. Heymsfield
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Muscle fibers are lost and replaced by fat- and fibrous-tissue infiltration during aging. This process decreases muscle quality and influences tissue appearance on ultrasound images over time. Increased muscle "echogenicity" represents changes caused by fat- and fibrous-tissue infiltration and can be quantified with recently developed software. OBJECTIVE: To investigate skeletal muscle quality through echogenicity, estimates according to participant's body mass index (BMI) and age were taken. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study performed at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana with 117 participants (57 men and 60 women), with mean age (±SD) 38.9 ± 17.0 years and BMI 28.6 ± 6.2 kg/m². All participants were examined by ultrasound (LOGIQ GE Healthcare), using a 5.0-MHz linear transducer. Participants had muscle thickness measured by ultrasound at 4 anatomic locations (biceps and triceps brachial, femoral quadriceps, and calf triceps). Echogenicity was analyzed with specific software (Pixel Health) that evaluated the image in gray scale. RESULTS: = -0.395, P <.0001). There was high muscle echogenicity in participants with overweight and obesity aged 50 years or older (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Older age and higher BMI were associated with stronger echogenicity signals and smaller muscle thickness. People with overweight, obesity, and/or older than 50 years old have reduced muscle quality with smaller muscle thickness, as observed with ultrasound.