Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39133460›Full record

ArticleGeroScience2025

What is normal age-related thigh muscle composition among 45- to 84-year-old adults from the UK Biobank study.

David B Anderson, Aaron J Beach, Lingxiao Chen, Henry J Feng, Marnee J McKay, Zachary A Smith, Kenneth A Weber, Evert Onno Wesselink, James M Elliott

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in GeroScience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
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

9 authors.

David B AndersonSchool of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. david.anderson1@sydney.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0001-7104-122X
Aaron J BeachDepartment of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
Lingxiao ChenDepartment of Orthopaedics, Shandong University Centre for Orthopaedics, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, People's Republic of China. lche4036@uni.sydney.edu.au.
Henry J FengUniversity of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health and the Northern Sydney Local Health District, The Kolling Institute, Sydney, Australia.
Marnee J McKaySchool of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Zachary A SmithUniversity of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 73116, USA.
Kenneth A WeberDivision of Pain Medicine, Department of Anaesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Evert Onno WesselinkFaculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
James M ElliottUniversity of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health and the Northern Sydney Local Health District, The Kolling Institute, Sydney, Australia.

Funding

MRI-Derived Neuromuscular Signatures to Predict Surgical Response in Degenerative Cervical MyelopathyR01NS128478 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Kenneth Arnold Weber · 2023 to 2026
$2.2M
Neuroimaging-Based Brain and Spinal Cord Biomarkers for Cervical RadiculopathyK23NS104211 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI WEBER, KENNETH ARNOLD · 2018 to 2022
$875k
NINDS NIH HHS K23 NS104211NINDS NIH HHS L30 NS108301NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS128478
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A loss of skeletal muscle mass and an increase in intramuscular fat are known to occur as we enter middle and older age, but the expected changes or normative values have remained unknown. The primary reason for this is that imaging studies are difficult and expensive to conduct, and consequently, the sample sizes have remained small. The development of the UK Biobank which provides access to a large magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data set of more than 50,000 participants provides an opportunity to finally address this question of normative values for each age group. The study's primary aim was to determine the age-related changes in thigh muscle composition (e.g., thigh fat-free muscle volume and intramuscular fat) between the ages of 45 and 84 years. The second aim was to analyse associations between thigh fat-free muscle volume and intramuscular fat with lifestyle behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity), leg pain, and bone mineral density. Fifty thousand three hundred thirty-two participants were included in the study. Total fat-free thigh muscle declined between the ages of 45 and 84 years, while intramuscular fat of the thigh continued to increase. The changes were stable between these age groups. The mean volume of fat-free muscle ranged from 11.16 (SD: 1.40) to 13.26 L (SD: 1.85) in adult males and 7.60 (SD: 0.97) to 8.80 L (SD 1.29) in females between the ages of 45 and 84 years. For intramuscular fat, the change among women was from 6.94% (SD: 1.59) in the 45 to 54 years age bracket to 8.83% (SD: 1.92) in the 75 to 84 age bracket, while for men, it was 5.83% (SD: 1.30) in the 45 to 54 age bracket to 7.85% (SD 1.89) in the 75 to 84 age bracket. The total fat-free muscle volume and intramuscular fat percentage provided can be used for the purpose of reference standards or normative values for adults in the age groups provided. Fat-free muscle and intramuscular fat were found to be associated with a range of health, activity, and leg pain outcomes, and these should be investigated in a follow-up longitudinal imaging study.

Indexed as

AgingBody CompositionMuscle, SkeletalThighAgedAged, 80 and overBiological Specimen BanksFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedReference ValuesUK BiobankUnited KingdomFat-free muscleMuscle compositionNeuromuscular diseasePainSkeletal muscle mass

Identifiers

PMID39133460
PMCPMC11872857

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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.