More Muscle Mass Means Longer Life For Kidney Disease Patients

A new study finds that dialysis patients with more muscle mass in their upper arm were 37% less likely to die during the 5 year study (792 subjects).  Study authors suggest more research to discover exactly what role more muscle mass has in preserving life of kidney disease patients.

Those with more muscle mass also scored higher on mental health tests.

Possible future recommendations may be to include mass building resistance training or drugs to preserve and increase lean muscle in kidney disease patients, and to decrease the risk of sarcopenia (loss of lean muscle mass).  Physical inactivity and poor nutrition are causes of sarcopenia.

Mid-Arm Muscle Circumference and Quality of Life a... [Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2010] - PubMed result