OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between muscle mass and functional recovery in men after hip fracture.

DESIGN

We investigated 27 of 33 men admitted consecutively to a rehabilitation hospital after hip fracture. For each patient, we also studied two control women, matched for age and fracture type. Lean mass (LM) was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) 21.9 +/- 7.5 (mean +/- SD) days after fracture occurrence in the 27 men (22.8 +/- 7.2 days in the 54 control women). Appendicular LM (aLM) was calculated as the sum of LM in arms and legs. Functional recovery was assessed using Barthel index scores. Barthel index efficiency was calculated as the change in the Barthel index score after rehabilitation divided by the length of stay in hospital.

RESULTS

After adjustment for age, height, fat mass, Barthel index scores at admission, and time between fracture occurrence and DXA assessment, aLM was significantly associated with Barthel index scores after rehabilitation (r = 0.480; P = 0.013) and Barthel index efficiency (r = 0.633; P = 0.001) in the 27 men. Conversely, in the 54 control women, no significant associations were found between aLM and the functional scores.

CONCLUSIONS

LM assessed after hip fracture is significantly associated with the functional outcome in men.