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Muscle Strength Reference Values and Correlation with Appendicular Muscle Mass in Mexican Children and Adolescents

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Abstract

Strength and muscle mass are important determinants of health status, and reference values for pediatric populations from every country or geographic region are needed. The aim of this study was to develop age- and sex-specific reference values of muscle strength and evaluate the correlation between muscle strength and appendicular lean mass in Mexican children and adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1111 healthy subjects ages 5 to 19 years of age participating in the “Body Composition Reference Values in Mexican Children and Adolescents” study. Smoothed reference values for the 1, 3, 5, 15, 25, 50, 75, 85, 95, 97, and 99 percentiles of muscle strength for upper and lower limbs were developed based on age and sex using Jamar® and Microfet2® dynamometers. Mean values were derived using the Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS), and lean mass was determined using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Highly positive correlations of muscle strength with lean mass in upper limbs were found r-values 0.87–0.92 for boys and r = 0.80–0.86 for girls. High and moderate positive correlations for lower limbs were also noted for upper limbs: r = 0.74–0.86 for boys and r = 0.67–0.82 for girls. The reference values for appendicular muscle strength established in this study demonstrated a high and positive correlation between appendicular mass and muscle strength. These data will be useful when evaluating conditions and diseases affecting muscle or sports.

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Acknowledgements

We want to thank to all participating children and their parents. Also to the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología in México City. To Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, program of Master´s and Doctorate in Health Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Epidemiology Research Unit, Children’s Hospital of Mexico Federico Gómez, Mexico City, Mexico

    Alma Lidia Almiray-Soto, Desiree Lopez-Gonzalez & Patricia Clark

  2. Nutrition and Health Research Center, Public Health National Institute, Cuernavaca, Mexico

    Edgar Denova-Gutiérrez

  3. Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

    Alma Lidia Almiray-Soto, Desiree Lopez-Gonzalez & Patricia Clark

  4. Nephrology and Bone Mineral Metabolism Research and Diagnostic Unit, Children’s Hospital of Mexico Federico Gómez, Mexico City, Mexico

    Mara Medeiros

  5. Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

    Mara Medeiros

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  1. Alma Lidia Almiray-Soto
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Contributions

ALAS: designed and carried out the study and prepared the first draft of the paper. EDG, DLG, MM, PC: conducted the research. ALAS and DLG was responsible for statistical analysis of the data; ALAS, EDG, PC: wrote the manuscript; PC: designed the study and critically reviewed and wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed and commented the paper for intellectual content and approved the final version. All authors agree to be accountable for the work and to ensure that any questions relating to the accuracy and integrity of the paper are investigated and properly resolved.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patricia Clark.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This study was managed according to the Declaration of Helsinki guidelines. The Bioethics committee at the Children’s Hospital of Mexico Federico Gómez (No. HIM 2016-110. SSA) reviewed and approved the study protocol and informed consent forms.

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Almiray-Soto, A.L., Denova-Gutiérrez, E., Lopez-Gonzalez, D. et al. Muscle Strength Reference Values and Correlation with Appendicular Muscle Mass in Mexican Children and Adolescents. Calcif Tissue Int 111, 597–610 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-022-01025-4

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