Effect of muscle distribution on lung function in young adults

Abstract

Background At present, available research on the relationship between muscle distribution and respiratory function in healthy people is limited. Objective To study the relationship between muscle distribution and lung function in healthy young adults. Methods A total of 612 male and 1561 Female Chinese college students were recruited. visceral fat tissue (VAT), subcutaneous fat tissue (SAT), total body muscle mass (TMM), trunk muscle mass (TKMM), upper limb muscle mass (ULMM) and lower limb muscle mass (LLMM) was measured by body composition. Vital capacity (VC) was measured by spirometry instrument. Obesity classification was defined by muscle mass ratio (MMR), body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (BFP), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Results Among these positive correlation parameters, male VC had a high positive correlation with TMM and LLMM, while female VC had a high positive correlation with TMM and TKMM. After the population was divided into MMR, BMI, BFP, and WHR, further analysis showed that VC was positively correlated with TMM for males with MMR-low muscle (r = 0.483; p < 0.05), BMI-underweight (r = 0.265; p < 0.05), BMI-overweight + obesity (r = 0.272; p < 0.05), BFP-low fat (r = 0.306; p < 0.05), and WHR-normal subgroups (r = 0.316; p < 0.05), while LLMM was positively correlated with VC in the MMR-normal muscle (r = 0.285; p < 0.05), BMI-normal (r = 0.305; p < 0.05), BFP-normal fat (r = 0.304; p < 0.05), and WHR obesity subgroups (r = 0.266; p < 0.05). VC was positively correlated with TMM for females with MMR-low muscle (r = 0.169; p < 0.05), MMR-normal muscle (r = 0.241; p < 0.05), BMI-underweight (r = 0.241; p < 0.05), BMI-normal (r = 0.288; p < 0.05), WHR normal (r = 0.275; p < 0.05), and BFP-low fat subgroups (r = 0.255; p < 0.05), while TKMM was positively correlated with VC in the BMI-overweight + obesity (r = 0.342; p < 0.05), WHR-obesity (r = 0.227; p < 0.05), and BFP-normal subgroups (r = 0.256; p < 0.05). Conclusions Muscle distribution in young adults is highly correlated with VC, and this relationship is affected by gender and body types. In general, for thin, VC is more positively correlated with TMM, and for normal weight or obese, VC is more positively correlated with LLMM for males but with TKMM for females, respectively, in comparison with other tested indices. Further studies will be required to evaluate the relationship between muscle distribution and vital capacity in young adults.