Association Between Skeletal Muscle Mass and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Occupational Sedentary Population: A Cross-sectional Study

Objective: The aims of this study were to determine the association of skeletal muscle mass with three cardiovascular risk factors and explore a simple and clinically feasible indicator for identifying high-risk groups of cardiovascular diseases in occupational sedentary population.

Methods: We recruited 7316 occupational sedentary participants older than 18 years from the Health Management Center of Tianjin Union Medical Center. Age-adjusted logistic regression was used to analyze the association between skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) and cardiovascular risk factors.

Results: There were significant positive associations between SMI, especially arm SMI, and cardiovascular risk factors in both male and female subjects (odds ratio, 1.28 to 5.02; P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that measurements of skeletal muscle mass, particularly in the arms, may help identify individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease in an occupationally sedentary population.

https://doi.org/10.1097/jom.0000000000002731