Association of change in muscle mass assessed by D3-creatine dilution with changes in grip strength and walking speed

Abstract

Background: Muscle mass declines with age. However, common assessments used to quantify muscle mass are indirect. The D3-creatine (D3Cr) dilution method is a direct assessment of muscle mass; however, longitudinal changes have not been examined in relation to changes in other measures of muscle mass, strength, and performance. Methods: A convenience sample of 40 men from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (mean age = 83.3 years, standard deviation = 3.9) underwent repeat assessment of D3Cr muscle mass, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) lean mass, grip strength, and walking speed at two time points approximately 1.6 years apart (2014–2016). One-sample t-tests and Pearson correlations were used to examine changes in DXA total body lean mass, DXA appendicular lean mass/height2, DXA appendicular lean mass/weight, D3Cr muscle mass, D3Cr muscle mass/weight, grip strength, walking speed, and weight. Results: D3-creatine muscle mass, D3Cr muscle mass/weight, grip strength, and walking speed all significantly declined (all P < 0.01). The change in DXA measures of lean mass was moderately correlated with changes in D3Cr muscle mass. There was no significant correlation between the change in DXA measures of lean mass and change in walking speed (all P > 0.05). The change in D3Cr muscle mass/weight was moderately correlated with change in walking speed (r = 0.33, P