Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30762201›Full record

ArticleAging clinical and experimental research2019

The effect of ageing on shear wave elastography muscle stiffness in adults.

Abdulrahman M Alfuraih, Ai Lyn Tan, Philip O'Connor, Paul Emery, Richard J Wakefield

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Aging clinical and experimental research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 82 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
82citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
9.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

82 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 151 citations in OpenAlex.

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  3. IsGenes · 2022
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  9. Muscle elasticity and thickness of the sternocleidomastoid and transversus abdominis in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain and cervical hypolordosis: an ultrasound elastography study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026
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22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Abdulrahman M AlfuraihRadiology and Medical Imaging Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Kharj, Saudi Arabia. a.alfuraih@psau.edu.sa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4655-7248
Ai Lyn TanChapel Allerton Hospital, Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9158-7243
Philip O'ConnorNIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK.
Paul EmeryChapel Allerton Hospital, Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Richard J WakefieldChapel Allerton Hospital, Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5352-8683
University of Leeds · GBLeeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust · GBPrince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University · SA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSkeletal muscle undergoes structural changes with ageing which may alter its biomechanical properties. Shear wave elastography (SWE) may detect these changes by measuring muscle stiffness.

aimsTo investigate muscle stiffness in healthy young, middle-aged and elderly cohorts using SWE and correlate it with muscle strength and mass.

methodsShear wave velocity (SWV) was measured in the quadriceps, hamstrings and biceps brachii of 26 young (range 20-35 years), 21 middle-aged (40-55) and 30 elderly (77-94) volunteers. The participants performed several muscle tests to evaluate their strength. The One-way ANOVA was used to test the muscle stiffness differences between the groups and the Pearson's correlation coefficient to evaluate the relationship between SWV and muscle strength.

resultsThe overall resting muscle SWV gradually decreased with age but was only significantly reduced in the elderly group (p < 0.001); with the exception of the vastus lateralis SWV where a significant difference was noted (p < 0.05) between young (1.77 m/s), middle-aged (1.64 m/s) and elderly (1.48 m/s). The elderly group had on average 16.5% lower muscle stiffness compared to the young. SWV significantly correlated with muscle mass (r = 0.316), walking time (r = - 0.560), number of chair stands (r = 0.522), handgrip strength (r = 0.436) and isokinetic knee strength (r = 0.640). Sex and BMI did not explain any significant variation in SWV.

conclusionsAgeing was associated with a decline in skeletal muscle stiffness which positively correlates with muscle weakness. Further research is needed to evaluate the promising role of SWE as a biomarker for sarcopenia assessment and potential falls risk prediction in elderly individuals.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsAgingCross-Sectional StudiesElasticityElasticity Imaging TechniquesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMuscle, SkeletalMuscle StrengthYoung AdultAgeAgeingElastographyMuscleStiffnessUltrasound

Identifiers

PMID30762201
PMCPMC6825644
OpenAlexW2912254745

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.