The purpose of the present study was to correlate knee extensors muscle strength with fat-free mass (FFM) of different body sites in older women. Peak torque (PT) from 258 women (66.58±5.6years; 65.6±11.7kg; 1.53±0.07m) was assessed using an isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex) and FFM was evaluated using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Pearson correlations were performed between FFM from Arms, Legs, Thorax, Whole Body and Dominant Leg (FFMA, FFMLs, FFMT, FFMWB and FFMDL, respectively) with PT. Significance level was set at α <0.05 for all comparisons. Positive and significant correlations were observed between FFM from all sites and isokinetic PT (p<0.001). However, it was stronger when the site of FFM analyzed was closer to the muscle responsible to perform knee extension (FFMT = 0.31; FFMA = 0.39; FFMWB = 0.52; FFMLs = 0.55; FFMDL = 0.60). Based on the observed results, it can be concluded that FFM is one of the important determinants of isokinetic muscle strength in older women.
Older; sarcopenia; fat-free mass; strength
