Opportunistic Muscle Evaluation During Chest CT Is Associated With Vertebral Compression Fractures in Old Adults: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract Background Sarcopenia and bone loss are both common in older individuals. However, the association between sarcopenia and bone fractures has not been evaluated longitudinally. In this study, we evaluated the association between computed tomography (CT)-based erector spinae muscle area and attenuation and vertebral compression fracture (VCF) in elderly individuals in a longitudinal study. Methods This study recruited individuals 50 years of age and older, who did not have VCF and underwent CT imaging for lung cancer screening during January 2016 to December 2019. Participants were followed up annually until January 2021. Muscle CT value and muscle area of the erector spinae were determined for muscle assessment. Genant score was used to define new-onset VCF. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between muscle area/attenuation and VCF. Results Of the 7 906 included participants, 72 developed new VCF over a median follow-up of 2 years. Large area of the erector spinae (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.1–0.7) and high bone attenuation (adjusted HR = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1–0.5) were independently associated with VCF. High muscle attenuation was associated with severe VCF (adjusted HR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.24–0.86). The addition of muscle area improved the area under the curve of bone attenuation from 0.79 (95% CI: 0.74–0.86) to 0.86 (95% CI: 0.82–0.91; p = .001). Conclusions CT-based muscle area/attenuation of the erector spinae was associated with VCF in elderly individuals, independently of bone attenuation. The addition of muscle area improved the performance of bone attenuation in predicting VCF.