Association between walking ability and trunk and lower-limb muscle atrophy in institutionalized elderly women: a longitudinal pilot study

Journal of Physiological Anthropology

Noriaki Ichihashi⁴  Yasuyoshi Asakawa²  Hiroto Shima³  Masatoshi Nakamura¹  Tome Ikezoe⁴ 

[1] Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan;Graduate School of Human Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan;Takeda Hospital, Kyoto, Japan;Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan

关键词: Walking ability;    Elderly women;    Ultrasonography;    Muscle atrophy;    Aging;   

Others  :  1224492
DOI  :  10.1186/s40101-015-0069-z

 received in 2015-06-02, accepted in 2015-08-13,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between walking ability and muscle atrophy in the trunk and lower limbs.

Methods

Subjects in this longitudinal study were 21 elderly women who resided in nursing homes. The thicknesses of the following trunk and lower-limb muscles were measured using B-mode ultrasound: rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, transversus abdominis, erector spinae, lumbar multifidus, psoas major, gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, biceps femoris, gastrocnemius, soleus, and tibialis anterior. Maximum walking speed was used to represent walking ability. Maximum walking speed and muscle thickness were assessed before and after a 12-month period.

Results

Of the 17 measured muscles of the trunk and lower limbs, age-related muscle atrophy in elderly women was greatest in the erector spinae, rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, and tibialis anterior muscles. Correlation coefficient analyses showed that only the rate of thinning of the vastus lateralis was significantly associated with the rate of decline in maximum walking speed (r = 0.518, p < 0.05).

Conclusions

This longitudinal study suggests that reduced walking ability may be associated with muscle atrophy in the trunk and lower limbs, especially in the vastus lateralis muscle, among frail elderly women.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Ikezoe et al.

【 图 表 】

Fig. 1.

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