Relationship Between Respiratory Muscle Strength and Conventional Sarcopenic Indices in Young Adults: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationships between respiratory muscle strength and conventional sarcopenic indices such as skeletal muscle mass and limb muscle strength.

Methods: Eighty-nine young adult volunteers who had no history of medical or musculoskeletal disease were enrolled. Skeletal muscle mass was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis and expressed as a skeletal muscle mass index (SMI). Upper and lower limb muscle strength were evaluated by hand grip strength (HGS) and isometric knee extensor muscle strength, respectively. Peak expiratory flow (PEF), maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) were evaluated using a spirometer to demonstrate respiratory muscle strength. The relationships between respiratory muscle strength and sarcopenic indices were investigated using Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression analysis adjusted by age, height, and body mass index.

Results: MIP showed positive correlations with SMI (r=0.457 in men, r=0.646 in women; both p<0.01). MIP also correlated with knee extensor strength (p<0.01 in both sexes) and HGS (p<0.05 in men, p<0.01 in women). However, PEF and MEP had no significant correlations with these sarcopenic variables. In multivariate regression analysis, MIP was the only independent factor related to SMI (p<0.01).

Conclusion: Among the respiratory muscle strength variables, MIP was the only value associated with skeletal muscle mass.

Keywords: Muscle strength; Respiratory muscles; Sarcopenia; Skeletal muscle; Spirometry.

Fig. 1. Correlation is shown between (A) maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and (B) maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) with skeletal muscle mass. The blue diamonds and solid lines show the results for men; the red hollow squares and dotted lines represent the results for women. SMI, skeletal muscle mass index.