BACKGROUND: High visceral fat mass (FM) is associated with a high risk of cardiometabolic morbidity. Meanwhile, loss of skeletal muscle (lean mass, LM) has been suggested to contribute to metabolic diseases. METHODS: We investigated associations between cardiometabolic diseases and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-measured body composition indices, including the FM index (FM/height²), percent body fat, trunk-to-appendicular fat ratio (TAR), trunk-to-leg fat ratio (TLR), LM index (LM/height²) and FM-to-LM ratio in 595 community-dwelling elderly Japanese men (mean age, 74 years; standard deviation, 6; range, 65 to 94). Hypertension was identified as high blood pressure and/or the use of antihypertensive drugs. Diabetes was identified as high hemoglobin A1c and/or the use of antidiabetic drugs. The ability of DXA-based indices to discriminate between the presence and absence of cardiometabolic diseases was evaluated using area under the curve (AUC) calculated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: Body mass index, FM index, percent body fat, TAR, TLR and FM-to-LM ratio were significantly associated with hypertension (P < 0.05). TAR and TLR, but not body mass index, FM index, percent body fat, LM index and FM-to-LM ratio, showed significant positive associations with diabetes. The AUC for the LM index was significantly lower than those for the FM index, percent body fat and FM-to-LM ratio. No associations were observed between the LM index and hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes. CONCLUSION The association between cardiometabolic function and LM, which includes skeletal muscle, may not be as pronounced or stronger than associations between cardiometabolic function and FM. Further detailed studies are needed to clarify how skeletal muscle contributes to cardiometabolic disease.
Humans ; Male ; Absorptiometry, Photon ; Aged ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Body Composition ; Aged, 80 and over ; Hypertension/epidemiology* ; Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology* ; Body Mass Index ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Osteoporosis/epidemiology* ; Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology* ; Risk Factors ; East Asian People

Objective: Medical science students, especially nursing students, are more likely to experience academic stress; therefore, resilience helps them focus on their lessons attentively. However, the results of a few existing studies regarding how resilience impacts the academic performance of medical science students are incongruent. This study aimed to investigate whether resilience impacts the academic performance of Japanese nursing students.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire survey from September to November 2020. A total of 229 undergraduate nursing students participated in this study; here, resilience was measured using the Bidimensional Resilience Scale, which includes innate factors (optimism, control, sociability, and vitality) and acquired factors (problem-solving, self-understanding, and understanding others). Academic performance was measured using the functional grade point average (f-GPA). Covariates were demographics, pre-entry academic performance levels, medical history, time spent walking, psychological distress, subjective economic status, and part-time jobs. Multivariate regression analyses were performed.Results: Among the 229 participants, the f-GPA mean (standard deviation) was 2.93 (0.46). Only vitality was significantly associated with a higher f-GPA after multiple imputations (β = 0.06; 95% confidence interval = 0.03–0.09; P<0.01). The Poisson regression analysis of 212 participants with all data indicated that vitality was associated with the fourth quartile f-GPA (prevalence ratio, 1.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.03–1.08; P<0.01).Conclusion: There was a significant association between the vitality of resilience components and academic performance among Japanese nursing students. This study suggests that an approach that develops resilience is necessary for the academic success of nursing students.