Relation between adipose tissue and the musculoskeletal unit in a group of postmenopausal women

Introduction

Involutional changes observed during aging increase rapidly in the postmenopausal period. These changes include body composition by affecting bone, muscle and fat tissue. A number of studies have investigated the mutual interaction between bone and muscle tissue, whereas adipose tissue had not been studied thoroughly.The aim of the present study was to assess the relation between fat tissue parameters and the musculoskeletal unit.

Material and methods

The study was conducted in a group of 120 postmenopausal women with an average age of 69 years (59-81; SD 5.3). All women had been asked to complete a questionnaire (medical history) and underwent a total body composition analysis [bone mineral density (BMD)] testing (spine and/or neck) followed by a handgrip test.

Results

The study revealed strong correlations between appendicular skeletal muscle mass index - appen.lean/height², visceral adipose tissue area (VAT) and fat/mass/height² index (r = 0.589 and 0.658 respectively; p < 0.001). The results were not supported by muscle strength (handgrip). The authors identified correlations between the bone parameters and adipose tissue but these were identified as weak or moderate (p < 0.05). Special emphasis should be placed on the relation between the trabecular bone score (TBS) and VAT area (r = -0.385, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

There is a strong dependence between muscle and adipose tissues. Despite the fact that the increase in fat is correlated with the growth of muscle tissue, it is not accompanied by better quality of the muscle (handgrip). Bone microarchitecture is more related to VAT area than neck/spine BMD.

Insufficient nocturnal sleep was associated with a higher risk of fibrosis in patients with diabetes with metabolic associated fatty liver disease

BACKGROUND

Metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) refers to metabolic dysfunction associated with fatty liver disease, and liver fibrosis stage is closely connected with liver-related and all-cause mortality. This study aimed to explore the association of sleep duration with liver fibrosis in the diabetic subgroup of the MAFLD population.

METHODS

This retrospective study analyzed 342 patients with MAFLD. Anthropometric measurements, clinical and biochemical markers, and lifestyle parameters were collected. Fibrosis was defined as fibrosis-4 ⩾1.3. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to match cases. Student's t-test and chi-square tests were applied for group comparisons, and binary regression models were used to explore the independent risk factors of liver fibrosis.

RESULTS

Among the 342 subjects, 87 (25.4%) were diagnosed with fibrosis and 255 (74.6%) without. Baseline characteristic comparisons showed differences in age and diabetes duration between the two groups, and adjustment was made by PSM. Ultimately, the fibrosis group and nonfibrosis group each had 87 patients. The fibrosis group had shorter duration of nocturnal sleep (6.77 ± 1.59 h) than the nonfibrosis group (7.77 ± 1.92 h, p < 0.001). More patients in the fibrosis group stayed up late at night (32.2% versus 14.9%, p < 0.01). Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) areas were larger in the fibrosis group than in the nonfibrosis group (p < 0.001). Glycemic profile, lipid profile, gamma-glutamyl transferase level, and serum uric acid level were not significantly different between the two groups. In the multivariate regression analysis, nocturnal sleep and VAT areas were independently associated with liver fibrosis, with odds ratios of 0.694 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.551-0.875, p < 0.01] for nocturnal sleep and 1.031 (95% CI 1.014-1.048, p < 0.001) for VAT areas.

CONCLUSION

Insufficient nocturnal sleep was independently related to a higher risk of fibrosis. Sleep modification might be beneficial in promoting the health of patients with MAFLD.