Ultrasound muscle geometry and malnutrition in community-dwelling older adults

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present research was to study whether muscle ultrasound (US) geometric parameters may be useful to detect malnutrition using Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria in community-dwelling older adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Seven University Hospitals and three Primary Care settings from Spain. PARTICIPANTS: 424 adults ≥70 years old from outpatient clinics. MEASUREMENTS: , subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness (SAT) in mm, total mid-thigh thickness (TTT) in mm, and pennation angle (PA) in grades. Nutritional data included the body mass index (BMI), and malnutrition assessed with the GLIM criteria. RESULTS: 367 participants presented valid data for the present study. US parameters presented significant correlation with BMI except for the PA, with TTT (r = 0.539; p < 0.001) and SAT (r = 0.453; p < 0.001) showing the higher figures. Every US parameter showed association with GLIM criteria, SAT (10.3 vs 14.9), QRFT (13.6 vs 15.3), QRFA (5.2 vs 5.9), TTT (34.7 vs 43.4), and PA (8.9 vs 10.4) for malnourished participants compared to those with normal nutritional status respectively (p < 0.001). TTT provided the best overall performance for malnutrition with an AUC 0.753 (95% CI 0.689-0.816; p < 0.001; overall model quality 0.69), with the best cutoff predictive value for both women and men of 41.4 mm and 35.4 mm respectively. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography may be a good tool to assess malnutrition in community-dwelling older adults, and total mid-thigh thickness may be the most promising single measurement.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
The journal of nutrition health & aging
Published
2026-08-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnha.2026.100961
Primary Topic
Nutrition and Health in Aging
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Ultrasound muscle geometry and malnutrition in community-dwelling older adults

Marta Neira Álvarez, Ignacio Morón Merchante, Pedro Abizanda, Elisa Belén Cortés Zamora et al.
The journal of nutrition health & aging
Nutrition and Health in Aging
article

Ultrasound muscle geometry and malnutrition in community-dwelling older adults

Marta Neira Álvarez, Ignacio Morón Merchante, Pedro Abizanda, Elisa Belén Cortés Zamora, Rubén Alcantud Córcoles, Cristina Alonso Bouzón, Fernando Andrés‐Pretel, Elena Gómez Jiménez, Adriana Abizanda Saro, Almudena Avendaño Céspedes, Rafael García Molina, Alfonso González Ramírez, Brian Dax Vásquez, Victoriano Chavero Carrasco, Marta Sáez Blesa, Rocío Menéndez Colino, Ester López Jiménez, Gema Montemayor Galán, Raquel Ramírez Martín, Marisa Fernández González De La Riva, Nicolás Martínez Velilla, Juan Rodríguez Solís, Pedro Luis Sagüillo González, Fabricio Zambom-Ferraresi, Paola Reinioso Párraga, Carmen de Pablos Hernández
article en

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present research was to study whether muscle ultrasound (US) geometric parameters may be useful to detect malnutrition using Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria in community-dwelling older adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Seven University Hospitals and three Primary Care settings from Spain. PARTICIPANTS: 424 adults ≥70 years old from outpatient clinics. MEASUREMENTS: , subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness (SAT) in mm, total mid-thigh thickness (TTT) in mm, and pennation angle (PA) in grades. Nutritional data included the body mass index (BMI), and malnutrition assessed with the GLIM criteria. RESULTS: 367 participants presented valid data for the present study. US parameters presented significant correlation with BMI except for the PA, with TTT (r = 0.539; p < 0.001) and SAT (r = 0.453; p < 0.001) showing the higher figures. Every US parameter showed association with GLIM criteria, SAT (10.3 vs 14.9), QRFT (13.6 vs 15.3), QRFA (5.2 vs 5.9), TTT (34.7 vs 43.4), and PA (8.9 vs 10.4) for malnourished participants compared to those with normal nutritional status respectively (p < 0.001). TTT provided the best overall performance for malnutrition with an AUC 0.753 (95% CI 0.689-0.816; p < 0.001; overall model quality 0.69), with the best cutoff predictive value for both women and men of 41.4 mm and 35.4 mm respectively. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography may be a good tool to assess malnutrition in community-dwelling older adults, and total mid-thigh thickness may be the most promising single measurement.

The journal of nutrition health & agingVol. 30(10)
Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA) (ES), Hospital Universitario La Paz (ES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ES), Instituto de Salud Pública de Navarra (ES), Hospital Universitario de Guadalajara (ES), Consorci d’Atenció Primària de Salut Barcelona Esquerra (ES), Complejo Hospitalario de Salamanca (ES), Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón (ES), Centro de Salud Casa del Barco (ES), Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research (ES), Hospital Universitario de Getafe (ES), Navarrabiomed (ES), Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz (ES), Servicio de Salud de Castilla La Mancha (ES), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (ES), Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete (ES), Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor (ES), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES), University of Castilla-La Mancha (ES)
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 11%
Nutrition and Health in Aging
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.