Development of an equation to predict muscle volume of elbow flexors for men and women with a wide range of age

The present study examined the age-related changes in muscle thickness (MT) and volume (MV) of elbow flexors and developed a prediction equation of the MV based on the MT applicable to men and women with a wide range of age. The MT and MV were determined from a single ultrasonographic image and multiple magnetic resonance imaging scans, respectively, in 72 men and 75 women aged 19–77 year. As a result of examining the age-MT and age-MV relationships by calculation of partial correlation coefficients with the control variable of gender, MV was decreased with aging whereas the corresponding decline in MT was not significant. The subjects were randomly separated into either a validation (38 men and 42 women) or a cross-validation (34 men and 33 women) group, and a multiple regression equation to estimate MV using not only MT but also upper arm length (L), age and gender as independent variables [MV (cm³) = 60.8 × MT (cm) + 6.48 × L (cm) − 0.709 × age (year) + 51.4 × gender (0 women, 1 men) − 187.4] was validated and cross-validated. Thus, the prediction equation for MV of elbow flexors newly developed was shown to be applicable to men and women with a wide range of age.