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Updated: May 19, 2026

Skeletal Muscle Gender Dimorphism from Proteomics
Published on: December 14, 2011
Muscle strength and bone in healthy women: effect of age and gonadal status
Cristiana Cipriani1, Elisabetta Romagnoli, Vincenzo Carnevale
1Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Disciplines, University of Rome Sapienza, Viale del Policlinico 155, Rome, Italy. cristianac@alice.it
Objective:
The aim of this work was to examine the effects of age and menopause on muscle strength and on the muscle-bone interaction.
Design:
One hundred ninety-four healthy women (mean age 49.8 ± 12.6 SD years) were assessed. Maximal Voluntary Contraction (MVC, Newton, N) by Hand Grip Dynamometer, bone mineral density at one third of the radius (R-BMD) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and phalangeal ultrasound by the DBM Sonic 1200 device were evaluated at the upper dominant limb. Ultrasonometric parameters considered were Amplitude-Dependent Speed of Sound (ADSoS) and Ultrasound Bone Profile Index (UBPI).
Results:
MVC significantly decreased with age (r²=-0.12, p<0.005). For each level of age, fertile women had a greater MVC compared to postmenopausal women (r²=0.015, p<0.005).In the whole sample, a statistically significant correlation between MVC and R-BMD (r=0.354, p<0.001) and between MVC and ADSoS (r=0.294) and UBPI (r=0.311)(p<0.001 for both) were observed.
Conclusions:
We conclude that age and menopausal status significantly contributed to the reduction of muscle strength. The decline of muscular strength significantly correlated with quantitative and qualitative bone features.
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