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Age-dependent Changes in Skeletal Muscle Mass and Visceral Fat Area in a Chinese Population

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Abstract

Objective

The present study was conducted to demonstrate the age-dependent changes in skeletal muscle mass and visceral fat area in a population of Chinese adults aged 30–92 years old.

Methods

A total of 6669 healthy Chinese men and 4494 healthy Chinese women aged 30–92 years old were assessed for their skeletal muscle mass and visceral fat area.

Results

The results showed age-dependent decreases in the total skeletal muscle mass indexes in both men and women aged 40–92 years old as well as age-dependent increases in the visceral fat area in men aged 30–92 years old and in women aged 30–80 years old. Multivariate regression models showed that the total skeletal muscle mass index was positively associated with the body mass index and negatively associated with the age and visceral fat area in both sexes.

Conclusion

The loss of skeletal muscle mass becomes obvious at approximately 50 years of age, and the visceral fat area commences to increase at approximately 40 years of age in this Chinese population.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Tian-hong WANG for participating in the revision of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health Management Center, Health Promotion Center, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Affiliated People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310000, China

    Shu-jing Ji, Zhan-hong Qian & Pei-ying Hu

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi’an, 710061, China

    Fang-yao Chen

Authors
  1. Shu-jing Ji
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  2. Zhan-hong Qian
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  3. Pei-ying Hu
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  4. Fang-yao Chen
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Shu-jing Ji or Fang-yao Chen.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

The present study was supported by the Basic Public Welfare Research Program of Zhejiang Province (No. LGF20H020009) and a Taizhou Science and Technology Plan Project (No. 22ywb105).

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Ji, Sj., Qian, Zh., Hu, Py. et al. Age-dependent Changes in Skeletal Muscle Mass and Visceral Fat Area in a Chinese Population. CURR MED SCI 43, 838–844 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-023-2742-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-023-2742-5

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