PP373 - NORMATIVE REFERENCE VALUES AND CUT-OFFS FOR NUTRITIONAL ULTRASOUND OF MUSCLE AND ABDOMINAL FAT: THE VALORES STUDY

PP373

NORMATIVE REFERENCE VALUES AND CUT-OFFS FOR NUTRITIONAL ULTRASOUND OF MUSCLE AND ABDOMINAL FAT: THE VALORES STUDY

C. Moreno-Torres Taboada¹, J. M. Romero Márquez², M. García Olivares¹, M. Novo Rodríguez², R. Fernández Jiménez³, I. Vegas Aguilar³, P. P. García Luna⁴, S. García Rey⁴, J. M. García Almeida³, G. M. OLVEIRA FUSTER^1,* on behalf of The VALORES Group

¹Regional University Hospital of Málaga, MALAGA, ²Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital, GRANADA, ³Virgen de la Victoria University Hospital, MALAGA, ⁴Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, SEVILLA, Spain

Rationale: Nutritional ultrasound (NU) enables direct assessment of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, yet population-based reference values remain scarce. We aimed to establish age- and sex-specific normative values for rectus femoris (RF) and abdominal adipose tissue NU measurements in healthy adults.

Methods: Multicentre cross-sectional study of 1789 healthy blood donors (842 women, 947 men), aged 18–80 years. Standardised NU assessed RF cross-sectional area (CSA), circumference, transverse (X) and anteroposterior (Y) axes, and abdominal adipose tissue. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and handgrip strength (HGS) were obtained. T-scores for RF parameters were derived from a young reference subgroup aged 18–45 years. Associations with sex, age and physical activity were analysed.

Results: All NU parameters differed significantly by sex (p < 0.001). Median RF-CSA was 4.60 cm² (IQR 3.83–5.58) in women and 6.77 cm² (5.55–7.91) in men; median RF-Y axis was 1.56 cm (1.33–1.80) and 1.91 cm (1.65–2.17). Median total abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (T-SAT) was 1.77 cm (1.16–2.39) in women and 1.65 cm (1.13–2.22) in men. RF measurements correlated with BIA-derived muscle mass (r = 0.45–0.65) and HGS (r = 0.49–0.58). RF-CSA and RF-Y axis increased across physical-activity categories in both sexes (p < 0.05). When indexed to body weight, participants with BMI > 25 kg/m² had lower RF-CSA and RF-Y values (all p < 0.001). In the young reference group, mean ± SD RF-Y axis was 1.68 ± 0.33 cm in women and 2.05 ± 0.37 cm in men. When applying T-score criteria, the −2 SD cut-off identified 1.4–11.7% of adults aged ≥45 years as having low muscle mass.

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Conclusion: This study provides the first population-based reference values for NU measurements in a healthy adult Spanish population. These findings support the validity, clinical applicability, and standardisation of NU for the assessment of muscle mass.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared