Muscle attenuation characteristics of the elderly

Objective: The purpose of this study was to measure muscle attenuation of the elderly adults by bioelectrical impedance analysis(BIA).Methods: 833 volunteers,aged 20 to 88 years,123 cases of old male and 152 cases of old female were measured by BIA.Results: The soft lean mass set a peak at 30-year-old,and fat free mass,soft lean mass,skeletal muscle mass,soft lean mass of trunk and limbs decreased after 40-year-old.On the contrary,body fat mass,percent body fat and visceral fat area were lowest in 20-year-old,and increased by age.The changes of skeletal muscle mass and body fat mass were slow in elder adults between 60~80 years(P0.05),and VFA increased steadily(P0.05).Percent body fat of older women was significantly higher than men(P0.05).Conclusion: In elder adults,soft lean mass,especially lower limb,decreased by age,and body fat mass increased.