世界最高齢でエベレスト登頂を成し遂げた日本人登山家の除脂肪量および骨密度

抄録

　Here, in comparison with community-dwelling middle-aged and older men, we investigated the skeletal muscle mass and bone mineral density of a Japanese alpinist (Mr. A) who, at the age of 80 years, is to date the oldest person to have climbed to the summit of Mount Everest (8,848 m). Using dual X-ray absorptiometry, we determined the appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), total bone mineral density (tBMD), whole body fat-free mass index (FFMI) and fat mass index (FMI) of Mr. A (84.6 yr) and 209 community-dwelling middle-aged and older men (50-79 yr, mean age: 68.1 yr). The SMI, tBMD, FFMI and FMI were 8.79 kg/m2, 1.075 g/cm2, 22.3 kg/m2 and 9.8 kg/m2, respectively, in Mr. A and 7.46 ± 0.81 kg/m2, 1.020 ± 0.100 g/cm2, 18.1 ± 1.9 kg/m2 and 5.5 ± 1.7 kg/m2, respectively, in the community-dwelling middle-aged and older men. The values in Mr. A were higher than those in the community-dwelling middle-aged and older men, with z-scores for the SMI and tBMD of 1.63 and 0.55, respectively. Mr. A maintained a high skeletal muscle mass and bone mineral density even at the age of 84 years, which may have been attributable in part to his long-term training for mountain climbing.