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Association between skeletal muscle mass and cardiorespiratory fitness in community-dwelling elderly men

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Abstract

Background

Sarcopenia reduces physical ability and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), leading to poor quality of life.

Aim

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between skeletal muscle mass and CRF in elderly men.

Methods

We assessed 102 community-dwelling men over 60 years old. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) was determined using bioelectrical impedance analysis, and the skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) was calculated as ASM divided by the square of height. Subjects with an SMI less than 7.0 kg/m2 were included in the sarcopenic group, as recommended by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. To investigate CRF parameters, a cardiopulmonary exercise test was performed using the Bruce protocol. CRF parameters were subdivided into aerobic capacity, cardiovascular response, and ventilatory response.

Results

Of the 102 subjects, 15 (14.7%) were included in the sarcopenic group. There were significant correlations between SMI and peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) (r = 0.597, p < 0.001), and between SMI and VO2peak/weight (r = 0.268, p = 0.024). Moreover, there were positive correlations between SMI and first ventilatory threshold (VT1) (r = 0.352, p = 0.008) and between SMI and VT1/weight (r = 0.189, p = 0.039). Additionally, peak oxygen pulse (O2pulsepeak) was significantly correlated with SMI (r = 0.558, p < 0.001). VO2peak, VO2peak/weight and O2pulsepeak showed significant differences between the sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic groups (p < 0.05, all). In multiple linear regression analyses, the factor related to VO2peak was SMI (β = 0.473, p < 0.001) and that related to O2pulsepeak was also SMI (β = 0.442, p < 0.001).

Discussion and conclusions

This study demonstrated that skeletal muscle mass might be closely associated with CRF. Therefore, sarcopenia should be appropriately managed to improve an individual’s CRF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan, Republic of Korea

    Seung-Hyun Boo, Min Cheol Joo, Young Mi Yu & Min-Su Kim

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan, Republic of Korea

    Jeong Mi Lee

  3. Department of Statistics, Pukyong National University, Busan, Republic of Korea

    Seung Chan Kim

  4. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Wonkwang University Hospital at 895, Muwang-ro, Iksan-si, 54538, Republic of Korea

    Min-Su Kim

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  1. Seung-Hyun Boo
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Correspondence to Min-Su Kim.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Boo, SH., Joo, M.C., Lee, J.M. et al. Association between skeletal muscle mass and cardiorespiratory fitness in community-dwelling elderly men. Aging Clin Exp Res 31, 49–57 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-018-0987-9

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