Associations between body composition, physical capabilities and pulmonary function in healthy older adults

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Physiology
• Body Composition Analysis

Background:

• Pulmonary function (PF) is positively associated with fat-free mass and muscle strength.
• Conversely, negative associations exist with visceral adipose tissue (VAT).
• Physical capabilities may mediate or moderate the relationship between body composition and PF.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the associations between body composition and pulmonary function in healthy elderly individuals.
• To examine the mediating and moderating effects of physical capabilities on these associations.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 40 healthy elderly individuals (mean age 72.2 years).
• Body composition (skeletal muscle, adipose tissue) assessed via MRI.
• Pulmonary function (FVC, FEV1) measured by spirometry.
• Muscle strength (handgrip), physical activity, and physical performance (gait speed, sit-to-stand) were evaluated.

Main Results:

• Positive correlations found between height-standardized FVC/FEV1 and skeletal muscle mass (SM).
• Negative correlation observed between subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and FVCI.
• Handgrip strength (HGS) and physical activity (PA) positively correlated with FEV1 and FVCI.
• HGS predicted FVCI, while HGS and PA explained 50% of FEVI variance.
• HGS mediated the SM-PF relationship; sit-to-stand test moderated the SM-FVCI relationship.

Conclusions:

• Pulmonary function in healthy elderly is positively associated with skeletal muscle mass.
• Physical capabilities, including handgrip strength and physical activity, are crucial mediators and moderators in this relationship.