Application of Muscle Thickness and Quality Measured by Ultrasound in Frailty Assessment in China

Abstract

To explore the correlation between Fried Frailty Phenotype (FFP) and the muscle thickness and quality of local muscle, and to provide a reasonable basis for the application of ultrasound measurement in the frailty assessment. A total of 150 people (age ≥ 65 years, 58 women, 92 men) were included from the First Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University. They were divided into Normal group (40 cases), Prefrailty group (69 cases) and Frailty group (41 cases). The thickness and the quality of local muscle were detected by ultrasound. Participants in the prefrailty group had a higher grayscale value of the vastus lateralis muscle, indicating the deterioration of muscle quality. At the frailty stage, the muscle thickness and quality of the vastus lateralis muscle and the anterior tibialis muscle decreased significantly compared with the normal and the prefrailty group. Pearson's correlation analysis also showed FFP was negatively correlated with muscle thickness and quality of the lower limbs. In multiple regression model, FFP was positively associated with gray value (Vastus lateralis muscle:β =0.457, p < 0.001; Anterior tibialis muscle: β = 0.220, p = 0.037) and inversely associated with muscle thickness (Vastus lateralis muscle:β = −0.973, p = 0.031; Anterior tibialis muscle: β = −4.551, p = 0.004) in the frailty stage. Together, FFP was closely related to muscle thickness and quality, especially vastus lateralis muscle. Moreover, Muscle quality has deteriorated in the prefrailty stage, which is earlier than muscle thickness.

Correlation of ultrasound measurement of limb muscle thickness and echo intensity with frailty assessment in elderly patients undergoing malignancies surgery

“…In contrast, the muscle thickness and echo intensity of the upper limb had no statistical significance. These results were consistent with previous studies [ 10 , 15 ], At the same time, based on the research of Canales et al [ 16 ], we found that the thickness and echo intensity of the vastus lateralis and tibialis anterior muscles were also closely related to the assessment of frailty. It provides more muscle choices for the follow-up research on sarcopenia and frailty.…”

A new possible marker: can pennation angle defined by ultrasound predict the frailty?

“…In the current study, muscle thickness, CSA, fascicle length, and PA, but not muscle stiffness, were found to be significantly lower in frail subjects compared to non-frail ones. In the previous studies, muscle thicknesses of thigh muscles were found to be related to frailty, as frail subjects had lower muscle thickness compared to normal and pre-frail individuals, which was consistent with our results [ 13 , 15 ]. On the other hand, apart from the current study, these studies evaluated more than one thigh muscles but measured only the thickness of muscles.…”

“…Rectus femoris muscle (RFM), a part of the quadriceps muscle group, is frequently evaluated in the literature to estimate skeletal muscle mass with high spatial ultrasound resolution and the highest intra- and inter-rater reliability [ 10 – 12 ]. The relation between ultrasonographic parameters of skeletal muscle and frailty among older people was scarcely investigated [ 13 , 14 ]. Shan et al reported that the thickness and quality of skeletal muscles of the lower extremities were affected by the frailty status [ 13 ].…”

“…The relation between ultrasonographic parameters of skeletal muscle and frailty among older people was scarcely investigated [ 13 , 14 ]. Shan et al reported that the thickness and quality of skeletal muscles of the lower extremities were affected by the frailty status [ 13 ]. In an early study, echo-intensity detected by ultrasound was shown to be increased in frail patients compared to robust ones.…”

Body Composition Evaluation and Clinical Markers of Cardiometabolic Risk in Patients with Phenylketonuria

“…In older adults, muscle thickness showed high a correlation with appendicular FFM measured by DXA [138]. It has been proposed as a low-cost objective method for muscle evaluation in nutritional assessments [139,140].…”