Age-related differences of vastus lateralis muscle morphology, contractile properties, upper body grip strength and lower extremity functional capability in healthy adults aged 18 to 70 years

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of of cross-sectional research that has investigated muscle morphology, function, and functional capability in all age-bands of healthy adults. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate age-related differences in indices of vastus lateralis (VL) muscle morphology, function and functional capability in a sample of healthy males and females aged 18-70yrs. Secondary aims were to evaluate relationships between age and VL muscle morphology and function and functional capability. METHODS: B mode Ultrasonography and Tensiomyography were used to measure VL muscle thickness, pennation angle, fascicle length, and contractile properties in 274 healthy adults aged 18-70yrs. Measurements of grip strength and functional capability (1-min chair rise test) were also taken. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, correlations, one-way ANOVAs, and multiple regressions. RESULTS: Negative correlations were found between age and muscle thickness (r(s) = -.56), pennation angle (r(s) = -.50), fascicle length (r(s) = -.30), maximal displacement (r(s) = -.24), grip strength (r(s) = -.27) and the 1-min chair rise test (r(s) = -.32). Positive correlations were observed between age and the echo intensity of the muscle (r(s) = .40) and total contraction time (r(s) = .20). Differences in the indices of muscle health were noticeable between the 18–29 age band and the 50–59 and 60–70 age bands (p < 0.05). The interaction of age and level of physical activity predicted changes in the variables (r(2) = .04—.32). CONCLUSION: Age-related differences in muscle health are noticeable at 50 years of age, and age-related differences are larger in females compared to males. It was suggested that the thickness of the VL changed the most with age across the adult lifespan and that physical activity likely acts to abate detrimental change. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-022-03183-4.