Table 2:
Empirical reference values for skeletal muscle metrics in female participants of the Framingham Heart Study
| T5, N = 1,153 | T8, N = 1,811 | T10, N = 1,837 | L3, N = 1,859 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (Years) | <45 | 45–54 | 55–64 | 65–74 | ≥75 | <45 | 45–54 | 55–64 | 65–74 | ≥75 | <45 | 45–54 | 55–64 | 65–74 | ≥75 | <45 | 45–54 | 55–64 | 65–74 | ≥75 |
| N | 88 | 360 | 355 | 237 | 113 | 265 | 569 | 489 | 319 | 169 | 277 | 583 | 495 | 315 | 167 | 279 | 588 | 500 | 321 | 171 |
| CSMA (cm2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mean (SD) | 156.7 (22.2) | 145.0 (19.8) | 134.8 (17.2) | 128.6 (15.7) | 119.2 (16.7) | 83.7 (12.4) | 79.3 (12.5) | 72.4 (10.9) | 68.1 (10.4) | 64.2 (10.7) | 70.9 (11.3) | 67.5 (11.2) | 62.4 (9.9) | 58.6 (9.7) | 54.9 (9.2) | 120.9 (18.4) | 119.5 (18.5) | 110.6 (16.3) | 104.5 (15.8) | 99.5 (16.0) |
| Median (IQR) | 155.7 (23.5) | 144.4 (24.2) | 134.4 (22.7) | 128.5 (21.6) | 118.2 (17.2) | 83.7 (15.0) | 78.7 (16.9) | 71.7 (14.0) | 67.2 (15.4) | 62.7 (13.8) | 70.0 (14.5) | 66.9 (15.6) | 61.8 (13.5) | 58.6 (13.0) | 54.9 (11.1) | 118.5 (22.1) | 117.6 (24.5) | 109.1 (20.2) | 103.6 (20.5) | 97.4 (18.5) |
| SMI (cm2/m2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mean (SD) | 63.4 (9.3) | 58.1 (8.2) | 55.8 (7.9) | 54.7 (7.3) | 52.0 (7.4) | 33.5 (5.2) | 31.9 (5.2) | 30.0 (5.0) | 28.9 (4.8) | 28.0 (4.6) | 28.4 (4.8) | 27.2 (4.6) | 25.9 (4.4) | 24.8 (4.2) | 23.9 (4.0) | 48.2 (7.1) | 48.0 (7.2) | 45.8 (6.8) | 44.3 (6.5) | 43.5 (6.7) |
| Median (IQR) | 62.2 (11.2) | 57.6 (10.1) | 55.3 (9.5) | 54.3 (10.2) | 51.7 (9.4) | 33.2 (6.3) | 31.4 (6.6) | 29.6 (6.3) | 28.3 (6.9) | 27.7 (6.4) | 27.5 (5.5) | 26.6 (6.2) | 25.5 (6.0) | 24.6 (5.5) | 23.8 (5.6) | 46.9 (8.4) | 47.3 (10.1) | 45.2 (8.4) | 43.6 (8.2) | 42.3 (7.5) |
| SMRA (HU) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mean (SD) | 42.3 (5.1) | 40.3 (5.0) | 38.6 (4.9) | 37.5 (4.7) | 35.2 (4.8) | 36.3 (6.2) | 31.9 (6.2) | 28.0 (5.8) | 26.1 (5.4) | 24.0 (5.7) | 37.0 (5.9) | 32.1 (6.6) | 28.2 (6.2) | 25.8 (5.5) | 23.2 (6.1) | 42.6 (5.5) | 38.1 (7.2) | 33.4 (6.8) | 29.3 (6.6) | 25.2 (6.8) |
| Median (IQR) | 42.7 (5.8) | 40.1 (6.1) | 38.5 (5.8) | 37.2 (5.3) | 34.8 (4.8) | 36.6 (7.7) | 31.7 (8.9) | 27.9 (8.0) | 26.2 (6.8) | 24.1 (6.9) | 36.8 (8.7) | 31.7 (8.6) | 27.8 (8.0) | 25.7 (6.6) | 22.9 (7.8) | 43.4 (6.6) | 38.9 (9.7) | 33.6 (9.5) | 29.2 (8.9) | 25.3 (9.8) |
| SMG (HU⋅cm2/m2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mean (SD) | 2,693.9 (575.1) | 2,352.0 (486.3) | 2,163.0 (480.4) | 2,055.1 (415.8) | 1,842.3 (436.3) | 1,224.4 (308.8) | 1,026.9 (290.0) | 851.2 (266.3) | 763.7 (243.7) | 679.2 (224.9) | 1,052.7 (251.1) | 877.3 (258.4) | 736.5 (230.6) | 645.8 (199.8) | 561.7 (193.5) | 2,047.9 (376.3) | 1,824.0 (416.2) | 1,524.5 (367.9) | 1,297.7 (346.7) | 1,111.6 (374.5) |
| Median (IQR) | 2,643.4 (586.1) | 2,365.5 (609.1) | 2,107.6 (586.2) | 2,010.7 (529.5) | 1,817.4 (490.7) | 1,233.9 (431.1) | 1,021.5 (406.8) | 808.2 (349.2) | 730.0 (316.5) | 664.5 (332.5) | 1,031.3 (347.7) | 857.3 (313.0) | 703.4 (293.4) | 613.7 (234.9) | 537.1 (260.7) | 2,026.2 (495.0) | 1,828.6 (494.7) | 1,509.5 (485.9) | 1,306.3 (499.7) | 1,043.6 (489.6) |
Reference values for skeletal muscle metrics in female participants of the Framingham Heart Study at the T5, T8, T10, and L3 vertebral levels. The number of participants differs between vertebral levels due to exclusion during quality assurance.
Abbreviations: CSMA – cross-sectional muscle area; IQR – interquartile range; HU – Hounsfield Units; SD – standard deviation; SMG – skeletal muscle gauge; SMI – skeletal muscle index; SMRA – skeletal muscle radio-attenuation.