| Significant findings from a recent AMRA imaging analysis study, which were presented last week at the 2024 European Congress on Obesity, glean insight into the role of adverse muscle composition in mortality risk in obesity
LINKÖPING, Sweden, May 14, 2024 – AMRA is pleased to share the acceptance of a research abstract for presentation at the 2024 European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Venice, Italy. Additionally, the abstract has been selected as a key component of the congress media campaign, highlighting the importance of AMRA's research in advancing ECO's mission. The abstract describes new AMRA findings which show that adverse muscle composition predicts all-cause mortality in obesity; indicating that poor muscle health is associated with a higher risk for death.
The study utilized the proprietary MRI-based AMRA® Researcher to analyze over 56,000 U.K. Biobank participants, (of which nearly 10,000 had obesity and complete muscle composition data) in order to quantify thigh fat-free muscle volume and muscle fat infiltration (MFI), as well as calculating a personalized, BMI-independent muscle volume z-score (z-MV) for each participant. The aim of the study was to use these biomarkers to explore the associations of all-cause mortality and adverse muscle composition within obesity.
During an average follow-up duration of 3.9 years, 174 deaths were recorded within the study population. Of the participants with obesity and complete muscle composition data, over 20% exhibited an adverse muscle composition phenotype. The study found that when compared to a population with obesity and normal muscle composition, individuals with obesity who also had adverse muscle composition were three times as likely to die during follow-up, suggesting a strong association between poor muscle health and all-cause mortality in obesity. Adverse muscle composition is defined as having both low z-MV and high MFI - though only having a low z-MV alone was not significantly linked to a higher mortality risk. This highlights the importance of measuring both muscle volume and fat for a complete assessment of muscle composition and, in extension, health. The association between adverse muscle composition and mortality remained significant even when factors such as grip strength, comorbidities (cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular disease), and lifestyle were considered.
While the role of muscle composition and health in the progression of obesity requires more study, the above findings come at a critical time given the global rise of obesity incidence and its comorbidities posing more of a threat to patients than ever before. As the treatment paradigm begins to shift from solely lifestyle changes-based regimens to one that includes pharmacological intervention (in particular the emerging GLP-1 agonists), drug development activity in obesity has increased significantly. The findings of this study indicate that those with adverse muscle composition comprise a vulnerable obesity subpopulation, and it is paramount that this patient group be prioritized when evaluating new obesity treatments and their impact on muscle health - especially as clinical trials involving GLP-1s continue to expand in metabolic disease indications and the commercial landscape for these drugs becomes more complex.
Through their gold-standard MRI-based body composition analysis technology, AMRA is committed to pioneering the exploration of muscle composition's impact on obesity, gleaning new insights that will eventually help at-risk individuals.
Learn more about AMRA Medical and how the use of MRI-based body composition analysis is advancing disease research in metabolic diseases including obesity, and beyond.
Reach out to our team of experts for questions or a detailed discussion at [email protected]. | 
