Gender Comparison of Muscle Quality and Relationship with Functional Ability

Background

Men and women lose muscle and function as they age, yet not always at the same rate.

Aims

The aim of this study was to identify any gender-based differences in muscle quality of adults over 55 years.

Methods

Nineteen men [mean ± SD: age (years): 69.3 ± 6.3; height (cm): 176.6 ± 7.5; mass (kg): 82.0 ± 15.0] and 19 age-matched women [age (years): 69.3 ± 6.2; height (cm): 160.2 ± 7.8; mass (kg): 71.0 ± 11.9] completed strength, functional assessments, and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Independent t-tests between gender, and correlations between muscle quality and functional assessments were performed.

Results

Gender-based differences in absolute arm (2.7 kg, p < 0.01) and leg lean mass (7.3 kg, p < 0.01) and absolute upper (22.7 kg, p < 0.01) and lower body strength (76.9 kg, p < 0.01) existed. However, these differences disappeared when upper and lower body relative strength or muscle quality was addressed (p > 0.05). Additionally, there were weak yet significant correlations between muscle quality and respective function of the upper and lower body for both men and women (r = -0.181 to -0.437, p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Strength measurement should be consistently monitored in this population as these data suggest the evaluation of these muscular similarities can provide useful insight to age-related functional deficits, such as indication of sarcopenia onset.