ReviewNutrients2020
Reference Values for Skeletal Muscle Mass - Current Concepts and Methodological Considerations.
Review in Nutrients, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 105 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
105 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 180 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Role of Fat-Free Mass in Weight-Related Complications: A Rapid Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- The association between muscle mass and change in physical functioning in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.European geriatric medicine · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of automated segmentation of 3D computed-tomography scans for volumetric body composition analysis.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of exercise training before and after bariatric surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of wearable-assisted walking on sarcopenia and body composition in older adults.BMC geriatrics · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Impact of Exercise and Cognitive Stimulation Therapy on Physical Function, Cognition and Muscle Mass in Pre-Frail Older Adults in the Primary Care Setting: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Effectiveness of a Novel Food Composed of Leucine, Omega-3 Fatty Acids and ProbioticNutrients · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Endocrinological aspects of sarcopenic obesity.Annals of medicine · 2026Review
- Bioimpedance: From Body Composition Assessment to Emerging Technologies in Clinical Nutrition.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Defining Healthy Weight Loss and Target Weight in the Era of Highly Effective Treatment of Patients With Obesity.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Review
- Future of CT body composition research: Methodological discrepancies and advances.Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2026Review
- CT-based muscle mass cutoff values for Caucasians according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia recommendations.European radiology · 2026Article
- From Pixels to Prediction: Reviewing the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Body Composition Analysis.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Review
- Serum vitamin D levels and appendicular skeletal muscle index in United States adolescents: A cross-sectional study based on NHANES.Medicine · 2026Article
- Association between opium consumption and sarcopenia in middle-aged and older adults: findings from the Fasa Adults Cohort Study (FACS).Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Longitudinal study on the relationship between extracellular water distribution changes and muscle mass in severe sarcopenia patients using multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis combined with phase angle measurements.European geriatric medicine · 2026Article
- Preliminary assessment of sarcopenic obesity risk after sleeve gastrectomy using dual-modality imaging: a six-month MRI and DXA pilot study in women.Frontiers in aging · 2026Article
45 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Assessment of a low skeletal muscle mass (SM) is important for diagnosis of ageing and disease-associated sarcopenia and is hindered by heterogeneous methods and terminologies that lead to differences in diagnostic criteria among studies and even among consensus definitions. The aim of this review was to analyze and summarize previously published cut-offs for SM applied in clinical and research settings and to facilitate comparison of results between studies. Multiple published reference values for discrepant parameters of SM were identified from 64 studies and the underlying methodological assumptions and limitations are compared including different concepts for normalization of SM for body size and fat mass (FM). Single computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging images and appendicular lean soft tissue by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) or bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) are taken as a valid substitute of total SM because they show a high correlation with results from whole body imaging in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. However, the random error of these methods limits the applicability of these substitutes in the assessment of individual cases and together with the systematic error limits the accurate detection of changes in SM. Adverse effects of obesity on muscle quality and function may lead to an underestimation of sarcopenia in obesity and may justify normalization of SM for FM. In conclusion, results for SM can only be compared with reference values using the same method, BIA- or DXA-device and an appropriate reference population. Limitations of proxies for total SM as well as normalization of SM for FM are important content-related issues that need to be considered in longitudinal studies, populations with obesity or older subjects.
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Registered trials
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.