Associations between quadriceps femoris muscle thickness and physical functions in hemodialysis patients

Abstract

【Purpose】 We examined the associations between quadriceps femoris muscle thickness (QT) and physical functions in hemodialysis patients. 【Subjects and Method】 The subjects were 182 hemodialysis patients. We measured QT with ultrasonography and also assessed handgrip force and walking speed. Then, we investigated the reliability of ultrasonographic QT measurements and the associations between QT and physical function in each gender. 【Results】 The QT measurements obtained using ultrasonography exhibited high intra-rater reliability. Furthermore, we found that QT was correlated with grip force and maximum walking speed in males, but was only correlated with the maximum walking speed in females. 【Conclusion】 Ultrasonographic QT measurements are useful for assessing renal rehabilitation in hemodialysis patients because ultrasonography places less burden on the patient, and such measurements are highly reliable and are associated with physical functions.