Adductor pollicis muscle thickness has a low association with lean mass in women

Abstract

Lean mass (LM) is a functional component of body composition and is an important parameter of nutritional status assessment. The adductor pollicis muscle thickness (APMT) has been used as a predictor of LM, but it is not well known if this method presents a higher prediction of LM than simple anthropometric measurements, such as weight. Thus, we aimed to associate APMT (alone and plus weight) with LM in women. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 82 young and postmenopausal women. Body weight (Filizola®) and height (Welmy®) was quantified and APMT was measured by Lange® caliper. Body composition (LM and fat percentage) was estimated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. APMT was positively correlated with LM (r=0.35; p=0.001), however, weight was strongly correlated with LM (r=0.81; p<0.001). APMT showed a prediction of 12% of LM (β=0.346, R2=0.120, p<0.001), and weight explained the variations of LM by 65% (β=0.808, R2=0.654, p<0.001). When weight and APMT were evaluated together, there was an increase of only 0.06% in LM prediction (β=0.820, R2=0.655, p<0.001), compared to weight alone. When compared to weight, APMT showed a low association with LM. These results suggest that a simpler anthropometric measurement, such as weight, can be a better predictor of LM than APMT.