Association between thigh muscle development and the metabolic syndrome in adults

Previous research has demonstrated an association between the metabolic syndrome (MS) and muscle mass; however, no studies have shown any relationship with a particular segment of the body, which would be more useful in clinical settings.

To investigate the association between muscle development of different segments of the body and presence of the MS in adults.

We used fractionation of body mass to calculate the development of muscle mass and correlated this with presence of the MS in a cross-sectional study in adults.

The mean age and body mass index were 42.7 ± 6.6 years and 25.3 ± 3.7 kg/m(2), respectively. 23.1% of adults suffered from the MS. After adjusting for multiple variables, the Z score of both thigh and chest muscle girths were significantly associated with the MS. There were significant differences between adults with or without the MS in the Z score of thigh [-0.686; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) -1.020 to -0.351], mid-thigh (-0.566; 95% CI -0.931 to -0.200) and chest (0.611; 95% CI 0.260-0.962) girths.

There is an association between muscle development and the MS; moreover, muscle thigh perimeter was larger in those without the MS. The use of muscle development of the thigh as an indicator of cardiovascular health-related metabolic alterations is proposed.