Men with bigger arm muscles have lower osteoporosis risk
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Larger mid-arm muscle circumference is associated with lower risk for osteoporosis among men, according to findings published in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics.
“Emerging evidence suggested that mid-arm muscle circumference has value beyond its traditional application in the field of undernutrition,” Li-Wei Wu, of the division of geriatric medicine in the department of family medicine at Tri-Service General Hospital and the School of Medicine at the National Defense Medical Center in Taipei, Taiwan, and colleagues wrote. “The present study demonstrated a strong link between increased mid-arm muscle circumference and decreased risk of osteoporosis in groups divided by age and BMI. A possible mechanism of the findings in our study might be related to the connection between osteoporosis and muscle mass.”
Wu and colleagues assessed mid-arm muscle circumference and T-scores at the femur neck using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data of 10,090 adults aged 40 to 90 years (mean age, 47.8 years; 52.3% women; mean mid-arm muscle circumference, 25.9 cm). The researchers used a T-score of –2.5 or lower to identify osteoporosis.
When compared with men with a mid-arm muscle circumference of 13.8 cm to 23.1 cm, or the lowest tertile of mid-arm muscle circumference, men with a mid-arm muscle circumferences of 26.9 cm to 44.1 cm (OR = 0.34; 95% CI, 0.18-0.64) and 23.2 cm to 26.8 cm (OR = 0.47; 95% CI, 0.3-0.75) were less likely to develop osteoporosis in fully adjusted models. The researchers noted that the results did not change when analyses with varying age and BMI ranges were conducted. In addition, the likelihood of osteoporosis development for women was unaffected by differences in mid-arm muscle circumference in fully adjusted models.
“The present study corroborates that increased mid-arm muscle circumference may be an indicator for osteoporosis in male population. ... Utilization of mid-arm muscle circumference as a surrogate for lean muscle mass is practical and convenient for detecting osteoporosis for the older men,” the researchers wrote. “The mid-arm muscle circumference incorporated evaluation of osteoporosis risk should be considered as a screening tool for elder male population during periodic physical examination.” – by Phil Neuffer
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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