The association between abdominal muscle mass quantified by computed tomography and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women

Introduction

Osteoporosis is a significant health concern among postmenopausal women owing to its association with increased fracturerisk and morbidity. Although traditional risk factors such as hormonal changes, dietary intake, and physical activity have been extensivelyinvestigated, the role of muscle mass, particularly abdominal muscle mass, in bone health remains incompletely understood. This studyaimed to investigate the association between abdominal muscle mass, as measured by computed tomography (CT), and osteoporosis inpostmenopausal Korean women. Material and methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 1,723 postmenopausal women who underwent both abdominal CT and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for bone mineral density (BMD) assessment. Abdominal muscle mass was quantifiedusing total abdominal muscle area (TAMA) at the L3 vertebral level on CT. Osteoporosis was defined as a T-score ≤ –2.5 at the lumbar spine or hip. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between TAMA and osteoporosis, adjustingfor age, body mass index, lifestyle factors, and biochemical markers.