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Effects of age and sex on neuromuscular-mechanical determinants of muscle strength

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to concurrently assess the effect of age on neuromuscular and mechanical properties in 24 young (23.6 ± 3.7 years) and 20 older (66.5 ± 3.8 years) healthy males and females. Maximal strength of knee extensors (KE) and flexors (KF), contractile rate of torque development (RTD) and neural activation of agonist-antagonist muscles (surface EMG) were examined during maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). Tissue stiffness (i.e. musculo-articular stiffness (MAS) and muscle stiffness (MS)) was examined via the free-oscillation technique, whereas muscle architecture (MA) of the vastus lateralis and subcutaneous fat were measured by ultrasonography. Males exhibited a greater age-related decline for KE (47.4 %) and KF (53.1 %) MVIC, and RTD (60.4 %) when compared to females (32.9, 42.6 and 34.0 %, respectively). Neural activation of agonist muscles during KE MVIC falls markedly with ageing; however, no age and sex effects were observed in the antagonist co-activation. MAS and MS were lower in elderly compared with young participants and in females compared with males. Regarding MA, main effects for age (young 23.0 ± 3.3 vs older 19.5 ± 2.0 mm) and sex (males 22.4 ± 3.5 vs females 20.4 ± 2.7 mm) were detected in muscle thickness. For fascicle length, there was an effect of age (young 104.6 ± 8.8 vs older 89.8 ± 10.5 mm), while for pennation angle, there was an effect of sex (males 13.3 ± 2.4 vs females 11.5 ± 1.7°). These findings suggest that both neuromuscular and mechanical declines are important contributors to the age-related loss of muscle strength/function but with some peculiar sex-related differences.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Lorena Nappa for her assistance with data collection. Rui Wu wishes to thank the UCD-CSC scheme supported by University College Dublin and Chinese Scholarship Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

    Rui Wu, Eamonn Delahunt, Massimiliano Ditroilo & Giuseppe De Vito

  2. Institute for Sport and Health, University College Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

    Eamonn Delahunt, Massimiliano Ditroilo & Giuseppe De Vito

  3. School of Electrical, Electronic and Communications Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

    Madeleine Lowery

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  1. Rui Wu
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  2. Eamonn Delahunt
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  3. Massimiliano Ditroilo
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  4. Madeleine Lowery
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  5. Giuseppe De Vito
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Correspondence to Rui Wu.

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The study was approved by the University Human Research Ethic Committee, and all participants provided written informed consent to the procedures and aims of the study.

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Wu, R., Delahunt, E., Ditroilo, M. et al. Effects of age and sex on neuromuscular-mechanical determinants of muscle strength. AGE 38, 57 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-016-9921-2

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