Table 2.
MAFLD severity is associated with a higher rather than a lower muscle mass.
| Muscle mass indexes | Mild steatosis (n = 35) | Severe steatosis (n = 13) | Δ | p value | Low liver stiffness (n = 36) | High liver stiffness (n = 12) | Δ | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT–skeletal muscle index (cm2/m2) | 53.3 ± 13.1 | 61.9 ± 10.7 | +16.0% | 0.025 | 58.0 ± 11.6 | 64.2 ± 11.4 | +12.7% | 0.115 |
| CT–psoas muscle mass index (cm2/m2) | 6.8 ± 2.4 | 8.2 ± 2.0 | +19.6% | 0.059 | 7.6 ± 2.3 | 8.3 ± 1.8 | +9.4% | 0.367 |
| CT–whole body fat-free mass (kg) | 52.7 ± 13.6 | 60.8 ± 11.4 | +15.4% | 0.043 | 56.1 ± 12.2 | 66.0 ± 10.1 | +17.8% | 0.016 |
| CT–appendicular skeletal muscle/height2 (kg/m2) | 7.0 ± 1.4 | 8.0 ± 1.2 | +14.2% | 0.025 | 7.5 ± 1.3 | 8.2 ± 0.3 | +9.3% | 0.151 |
| BIA–fat-free mass (kg) | 62.4 ± 12.7 | 68.4 ± 12.9 | +9.7% | 0.190 | 63.5 ± 12.2 | 76.7 ± 10.8 | +19.5% | 0.002 |
| BIA-SMIbw (%) | 62.3 ± 9.5 | 63.6 ± 8.1 | +2.1% | 0.691 | 62.8 ± 8.7 | 64.4 ± 7.6 | +2.3% | 0.556 |
| BIA-SMIht2 (kg/m2) | 20.1 ± 2.6 | 23.1 ± 3.2 | +10.4% | 0.045 | 21.9 ± 2.5 | 24.7 ± 4.0 | +13.8% | 0.006 |
CT–skeletal muscle index: whole muscle area at L3 divided by height2; CT–psoas muscle mass index: psoas muscle area at L3 divided by height2; CT–fat-free mass: whole body fat free mass derived from the prediction model (see Methods); CT–height-scaled appendicular muscle mass index: CT–estimated appendicular muscle mass divided by height2; BIA–fat-free mass: fat-free mass derived from BIA; BIA-SMIbw: BIA–body weight-scaled skeletal muscle index: BIA–fat-free mass × 100 divided by body weight; BIA-SMIht2: BIA–height-scaled skeletal muscle index: BIA–fat-free mass divided by height2. Δ: percentage change between means. Student’s t test was used to compare means. Values in bold indicate statistical significance. BIA, bioelectrical impedance analysis; CT, computed tomography; L3, third lumbar level.