Quantitative Evaluation of Fat Composition in Lumbar Vertebral Body and Paraspinal Muscle by Proton Density Fat Fraction with MRI

Purpose: Bone marrow and muscle adiposity have been considered to correlate with osteoporosis and Sarcopenia. Proton Density Fat Fraction (PDFF) can be measured by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The purpose of the present study was to measure PDFF in the lumbar spine, paraspinal muscle and subcutaneous fat tissue. Methods: Participants were comprised of 30 patients (18 males, 12 females; age range, 14 - 87 years) who underwent MRI due to low back symptoms. PDFFs for the body of the fourth lumbar vertebra (L4), paraspinal muscle, and subcutaneous fat were measured. Results: PDFFs of the vertebral body and subcutaneous fat were significantly higher than that of paraspinal muscle (p fat between females and males, PDFFs of the vertebral body and paraspinal muscle were significantly higher in older subjects (>63 years) than in younger subjects (Conclusions: PDFF of the vertebral body was significantly higher than that of paraspinal muscle. PDFFs of the vertebral body and paraspinal muscle were significantly lower in younger subjects than in older subjects.