Adults with high muscle fat accumulation are at increased risk for major adverse events and mortality.
- Myosteatosis corresponds to a strong accumulation of fat in the muscles.
- It was found in 55% of people who died during the study.
- The mortality risk of adults with myosteatosis was comparable to the mortality risk associated with smoking or type 2 diabetes.
When fat accumulates in the muscles, it is called myosteatosis. In general, this disorder is detected in people who are already sick, who carry out medical imaging examinations. “Little is known about the health risks it poses to asymptomatic patients,” said Belgian researchers. This is why they sought to identify the link between myosteatosis and the risk of mortality.
Analyze the body composition of 8,982 adults
In a study published in the journal Radiology, the scientists used an artificial intelligence. Using an algorithm, they extracted body composition parameters (total muscle surface area, muscle density, subcutaneous and visceral fat surface area and liver volumetric density) from abdominal CT scans performed by 8,982 people who underwent screening. of colorectal cancer between 2004 and 2016.
The incidence of major adverse events, such as heart attack, stroke, aneurysm and death was recorded during a follow-up period of about eight years. “Abnormal body composition was defined by the presence of fatty liver, obesity, fatty infiltration of muscles (myosteatosis) and/or low muscle mass (myopenia)”can we read in the works.
Myosteatosis was found in 55% of deceased patients
A total of 507 participants died during the study. “Abnormal body composition was found in 86% of deceased patients.” According to the results, myosteatosis was associated with an increased risk of major adverse events and was observed in 55% of the volunteers who died. The 10-year mortality risk for people with myosteatosis was 15.5% compared with obesity (7.6%), fatty liver (8.5%) or myopenia (9.7 %).
“Interestingly, this association is independent of age or markers of obesity such as BMI. In other words, it means that the accumulation of fat in the muscles cannot be explained only by being older and/or having excess fat in other parts of the body”, said Maxime Nachit, co-author of the research, in a statement.
The authors found that the mortality risk for adults with myosteatosis was comparable to the risk of death associated with smoking or type 2 diabetes. According to Maxime Nachit, further studies are needed to determine if myosteatosis is only a biomarker poor health or is causally associated with an increased risk of death.
