Physical performance of elderly adults in association with thigh tissue composition: a cross-sectional study.
Ibrahim Altubasi
PMID 29643603WHAT IT FOUND
Healthy adults aged 65 to 80 who had larger thigh muscle area and less fat inside the thigh muscle also had faster overall timed performance.
This was an association, not proof that changing tissue improves performance.
Key findings
01Larger thigh muscle, quadriceps, and fat-free quadriceps areas were associated with smaller composite timed-performance scores, meaning faster performance.
02More intramuscular adipose tissue in the thigh was associated with larger composite timed-performance scores, meaning slower performance.
03Subcutaneous adipose tissue area in the thigh was not significantly associated with composite timed performance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample was small, with 22 participants. Participants were healthy and could walk independently without assistive devices, so results may not apply to frailer patients or those with common excluded conditions. The cross-sectional design cannot show that thigh tissue composition caused better or worse performance. A participant could not complete the chair rise test, so that participant's composite score was not computed.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increasing thigh muscle or reducing intramuscular fat will improve physical performance. The study measured associations in a small cross-sectional sample of healthy older adults who could walk independently.