Adductor Pollicis Muscle Thickness and Its Relationship with Other Anthropometric Measurements: A Sample of Healthy Turkish Population

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the authors of this study was to determine the reference values for the Adductor Pollicis Muscle Thickness (APMT) in individuals belonging to a healthy population and to compare these values with other anthropometric measurements. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the APMT in the dominant and non-dominant hands of 385 healthy individuals categorized according to age and gender variables were measured with a caliper. Individuals in the “A” category according to the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) test were included in the study, and anthropometric measurements. Results: In the study, 193 women and 192 men were included, and various anthropometric measurements were taken. The mean APMT values of the dominant and non-dominant hands were 20.87 ± 3.23 mm and 19.28 ± 2.93 mm in men and 16.78 ± 3.10 mm and 15.43 ± 2.92 mm in women, respectively, which indicates that there were significant differences between the members of the two genders and between the members of the same gender (p<0.001). There was a high level of positive correlation between the mean APMT values of the dominant hand and the mid-upper arm circumference (p<0.001). Conclusion: In this study, a high-level and positive correlation was found between APMT values and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), mid-upper arm muscle circumference (MUAMC) and mid-upper arm muscle area (AMA) values. APMT measurement emerges as a useful and new anthropometric measurement method in the assessment of the nutritional status of a person.