The effect of ageing on fat infiltration of thigh and paraspinal muscles in men

BACKGROUND: Myosteatosis, skeletal muscle fat infiltration, is associated with inflammation and fibrosis. The age-related increase of myosteatosis is an important characteristic of sarcopenia and contributes to fragility. AIMS: To investigate the impact of healthy aging on intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) and muscle fat fraction (FF) in the thigh and the paraspinal muscles in males. METHODS: In 54 healthy males (age 20–70), all active hobby golfers, magnetic resonance imaging was performed to determine volume of IMAT, volume of muscle tissue (MT) and of percentage of FF. RESULTS: Between ages 20–70, at the thigh, IMAT/MT volume and MT FF increased annually by 2.9% and 1.3%, respectively. At the psoas IMAT/Psoas volume did not change with age. MT FF increased by 1.5% annually. At the erector spinae IMAT/Erector volume decreased by 0.3% and MT FF increased by 2.8% annually. DISCUSSION: With increasing age, in males, thigh muscle atrophied, muscle tissue was partly replaced by adipose tissue and remaining muscle tissue also contained more fat. Similar effects were observed in the erector spinae. The psoas muscle did not atrophy, although MT FF also increased with age. Overall correlations with age were weak to moderate with higher correlations observed in the paraspinal muscles. CONCLUSIONS: Age-related increases of muscle fat infiltration were observed in the thigh and in the spine. Muscle atrophy did not occur in the psoas. In cross-sectional studies, an adjustment of volumetric parameters by muscle volume is advisable when comparing age-dependent results. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40520-022-02149-1.