Margaret A. Crawford
Highlights
• Abdominal muscle density (AMD) and area (AMA) were measured in adults with no CVD
• Coronary artery calcium (CAC) Agatston scores were divided into volume and density
• AMA was associated with higher CAC volume and lower CAC density
• AMD was associated with lower CAC volume and higher CAC density
• AMA and AMD are unique and opposing predictors of CAC profiles
Background
Due to the opposing cardiovascular risk profiles of CAC volume and density, we tested the hypothesis that increased abdominal muscle area (AMA) and density (AMD) were significantly associated with lower coronary arterial calcium (CAC) volume and higher CAC density.
Methods
Using data from 787 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, Ancillary Body Composition Study, we analyzed abdominal and chest computed tomography (CT) scans. Abdominal scans were scored for muscle area, muscle density (attenuation) and visceral and subcutaneous fat. Chest scans were scored for CAC volume and Agatston values, which were used to derive CAC density scores.
Results
The mean (SD) age and BMI of the participants was 67.8 (9.0) years and 27.9 (4.

Conclusion
AMA and AMD had differing associations with CAC volume and density, with AMA significantly associated with a higher risk CAC profile (high volume, low density) and AMD not significantly associated with CAC volume or density. Future research needs to account for the unique components of both muscle composition and CAC.