Validity of the upper arm proximal circumference of the elderly

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the upper arm proximal circumference of the elderly. [Methods] Thirty-five left and right shoulders of the dwelling elderly women were the subjects of this study. Upper arm proximal circumference, BMI, muscle mass, fat mass, deltoid muscle thickness, isometric abduction muscle strength, and functional elevation muscle strength were measured. The relationships among the items assessed were evaluated using Pearsonʼs correlation coefficient. The residual were calculated from the predicted value of the circumference using the simple regression analysis with the upper arm proximal circumference as an object variable and BMI as an explanatory variable, and the relationships between the residual and the other measurement items were analyzed using Pearsonʼs correlation coefficient. [Results] The upper arm proximal circumference demonstrated significant correlations among the each items. As a result of single regression analysis, significance was observed in BMI, the residual demonstrated significant correlation with muscle mass, deltoid muscle thickness,and functional elevation muscle strength. [Conclusion] These results showed the validity of the upper arm proximal circumference measurement as the test reflecting the deltoid muscles mass and thickness of the elderly.