# Body composition and muscle health changes after providing vascular imaging results in older adults: secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial

## TL;DR

Giving older adults vascular imaging results with lifestyle advice did not improve body composition or muscle health compared to advice alone.

## Contribution

Examines the impact of providing abdominal aortic calcification results on body composition and muscle health in older adults.

## Key findings

- Providing AAC results with education did not improve body composition, grip strength, or physical function compared to education alone.
- Participants with AAC at baseline had greater declines in fat mass and visceral adipose tissue when given AAC results.
- Findings suggest potential benefits for those with AAC, but require further investigation.

## Abstract

Provision of vascular imaging results has been investigated to prompt changes towards healthy lifestyle behaviours, but effects on body composition and muscle health are unknown.

This secondary analysis of a 12-week parallel-group randomised controlled trial (RCT) aims to explore body composition and muscle health effects of providing healthy lifestyle education (Ed) with and without abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) results.

A total of 240 Australian community-dwelling older men and women (mean ± SD age 68 ± 5 years; 58% female; 57.1% with evidence of AAC) were randomised to AAC + Ed (n = 121) or Control + Ed (n = 119). Linear mixed models were used to compare between-group changes in body composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), grip strength, and subjective physical function.

In total, 226 (94%) participants completed the trial. Provision of AAC results with lifestyle education provided no benefits to body composition, grip strength or physical function, compared to education alone. Exploratory analyses within the AAC + Ed group showed that those with evidence of AAC at baseline had greater declines in fat mass (net difference in change [95% CI] -0.6 [-1.0, -0.1] kg, p = 0.016) and visceral adipose tissue (-31 [-61, -1] g, p = 0.044) compared to those without evidence of AAC.

Providing AAC results with healthy lifestyle education did not improve body composition or muscle health in older adults, compared to education alone. Provision of AAC results to those with evidence of AAC at baseline did improve total and visceral fat mass compared to those without evidence of AAC, but these findings require further investigation.

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (anzctr.org.au); registration number ACTRN12618001087246; registered 28/06/2018.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40520-026-03335-1.