Muscle Strength, but Not Muscle Mass, Is Associated with Left Ventricular Diastolic Function during Aging in Chinese

Sarcopenia, a progressive and systemic skeletal muscle disorder, is closely related with the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CVD-related mortality, but its association with cardiac structure and function during aging remains unclear, particularly in the absence of serious cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to investigate the correlation of muscle mass and muscle strength, the main components of sarcopenia, with left ventricular mass and function in Chinese subjects.A total of 265 men and 70 women (aged 25-95 years) without serious diseases that could have pronounced impact on muscle and/or cardiovascular system were included. Left ventricular mass and function were assessed by echocardiography and muscle mass and grip strength were evaluated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and a Jamar hand dynamometer, respectively.Grip strength and left ventricular diastolic function, rather than left ventricular mass, demonstrated age-dependent decline in both genders. Muscle mass in males and left ventricular systolic function in females declined with age. In the multivariate-adjusted model, grip strength rather than the relative appendicular skeletal muscle mass (RASM) was positively associated with E/A ratio (r = 0.154, P = 0.019) and e´-av (r = 0.175, P = 0.008), but was negatively correlated with E/e´-av ratio (r = -0.136, P = 0.038). No significant correlation was observed between RASM, grip strength and left ventricular mass, left ventricular ejection fraction or left ventricular fractional shortening. Higher grip strength is independently associated with better left ventricular diastolic function in Chinese during aging.