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Published on: July 5, 2017
Relationship between skeletal muscle mass and cardiac function during exercise in community-dwelling older adults
Masamitsu Sugie1,2, Kazumasa Harada1, Tetsuya Takahashi2,3
1Department of Cardiology, Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital and Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
Aims:
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between skeletal muscle mass and cardiac functional parameters in older adults during cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).
Methods And Results:
Sixty-three Japanese community-dwelling older adults were enrolled (20 men and 43 women; mean age 80 years, range 65-97 years). Cardiac functional parameters during exercise were assessed using CPET. Skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) was calculated by dividing the appendicular lean mass (measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) by height in metres squared. Subjects were divided into two groups: men with SMI ≥ 7.0 kg/m2 and women with SMI ≥ 5.4 kg/m2 (non-sarcopenic group); or men with SMI < 7.0 kg/m2 and women with SMI < 5.4 kg/m2 (sarcopenic group). There were significant positive correlations between SMI and peak oxygen uptake (VO2 ) (r = 0.631, P < 0.001), and between SMI and peak VO2 /heart rate (HR) (r = 0.683, P < 0.001). However, only peak VO2 /HR significantly differed between groups in both sexes. Multiple linear regression analyses with peak VO2 /HR as a dependent variable showed that SMI was the only independent determinant after adjusting for potential confounders. After 4 month follow-up of 47 participants, there was still a significant positive correlation between SMI and peak VO2 /HR (r = 0.567, P < 0.001), and between percent change of SMI and percent change of peak VO2 /HR (r = 0.305, P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Peak VO2 /HR, an index of stroke volume at peak exercise, was associated with SMI. This indicates that skeletal muscle mass might affect cardiac function during exercise.
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