ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2023
Gender similarities and differences in skeletal muscle and body composition: an MRI study of recreational cyclists.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- From neck to abdomen: cervical (C3) muscle quantification as a surrogate to lumbar (L3) sarcopenia assessment in head and neck cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis.Skeletal radiology · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the acute effects of photobiomodulation therapy on the maximum number of repetitions in resistance exercise in young adults.Lasers in medical science · 2025Pooled it
- Quantitative MRI of core muscles at different activity levels: muscle-specific metrics and composite core fat fraction and lean-volume scores.Skeletal radiology · 2026Article
- Limited Association Between Body Mass Index and Selected Components of Physical Fitness in Higher Education Physical Education Students: A Sex- and Country-Specific Analysis.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of aquatic therapy vs. standard care on gluteal muscle morphology and function in individuals with chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Automated deep-learning quantification of intramuscular fat in lumbar spine muscles on Dixon MRI: validation and normative reference values from 173 healthy adults.BMC medical imaging · 2026Article
- Body Mass Analysis for Patients Undergoing Surgical Intervention: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Intramuscular Fat as a Biomarker of Muscle Health: Strengths, Limitations and Open Challenges.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Review
- Fatty infiltration of the gluteus medius and minimus muscles: volumetric analysis of both hips in patients with unilateral greater trochanteric pain syndrome using 2-point-Dixon MRI.Insights into imaging · 2025Article
- Gender and Age-Related Decline in Lower Limb Standing Muscle Strength: Benchmarking for Rehabilitation Assessment.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Cross-sectional fat fraction analysis of the gluteus medius and minimus muscle in asymptomatic vs. symptomatic hips using 2-point Dixon MRI.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Article
- Impact of sleep apnea on alzheimer's disease in relation to sex: an 8-year longitudinal follow-up study of a nationwide cohort.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2025Article
- Comparing the association of novel Anthropometric and atherogenicity indices with all-cause, cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality in a general population of Iranian adults.American journal of preventive cardiology · 2025Article
- Leg Muscle Volume, Intramuscular Fat and Force Generation: Insights From a Computer-Vision Model and Fat-Water MRI.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Article
- Weight-adjusted waist circumference index and chronic diseases as predictors of depression risk in U.S. adults: a cross-sectional study with mediation analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Sex differences in quantitative ultrasonographic measurements of the rectus femoris in children.Journal of anatomy · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to quantitatively evaluate whether there are muscle mass differences between male and female recreational cyclists and compare muscle quality and body composition in the pelvis region between two well-matched groups of fit and healthy male and female adults. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 45 female and 42 male recreational cyclists. The inclusion criteria for both groups were to have cycled more than 7000 km in the last year, have an absence of injuries and other health problems, have no contraindication to MRI, and be 30-65 years old. Our main outcome measures were fat fraction, as a measure of intramuscular fat (IMF) content, and volume of the gluteal muscles measured using Dixon MRI. The gluteal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) volume was evaluated as a secondary measure. Results: We found that there were no gender differences in the IMF content of gluteus maximus (GMAX, p=0.42), gluteus medius (GMED, p=0.69) and gluteus minimus (GMIN, p=0.06) muscles, despite women having more gluteal SAT (p<0.01). Men had larger gluteal muscles than women (p<0.01), but no differences were found when muscle volume was normalised by body weight (GMAX, p=0.54; GMED, p=0.14; GMIN, p=0.19). Conclusions: Our study shows that despite the recognised hormonal differences between men and women, there is gender equivalence in the muscle mass and quality of the gluteal muscles when matched for exercise and body weight. This new MRI study provides key information to better understand gender similarities and differences in skeletal muscle and body composition.
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