Skeletal Muscle Mass is Associated with HDL Cholesterol Levels and the Ratio of LDL to HDL Cholesterol in Young Men: A Pilot Study
Open accessAbstract
Background: It is unclear whether greater skeletal muscle mass is beneficial for improving cardiometabolic health in young individuals. Our purpose was to investigate the association between skeletal muscle mass and cardiometabolic risk factors in young males. Methods: Data were collected from thirty-seven young males (23.2 ± 0.3 years). Participants were categorized based on skeletal muscle mass (skeletal muscle index-percentile score, SMI-PS) assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis. They were divided into two group: standard skeletal muscle mass group (SMG, n = 17, SMI-PS = 102.2 ± 1.0%), high skeletal muscle mass group (HMG, n = 20, SMI-PS = 120.5 ± 1.8%). Arterial stiffness assessed by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and blood parameters including high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), fasting glucose (FG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were assessed. Results: The level of HDL-C in HMG was significantly higher compared to SMG (p < 0.001), whereas the ratio of LDL-C to HDL-C in HMG was significantly lower compared to SMG (p < 0.001). However, no changes in baPWV, TC, LDL-C, TG, FG, and HbA1c were found between groups. Interestingly, there was a positive correlation between SMI-PS and HDL-C (r = 0.469, p = 0.003), whereas there was a negative correlation between SMI-PS and LDL-C/HDL-C (r = –0.38, p = 0.02). Conclusions: This study suggests that an increase in skeletal muscle mass may have an additive benefit on improving lipid components through the increased HDL-C level and decreased the ratio of LDL-C to HDL-C in young men.
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The mechanism by which resistance training raises HDL cholesterol is not well understood, but may be a similar or shared mechanism with aerobic training.
“With respect to RT, the mechanism by which HDL is raised is not well understood, but may be a similar or shared mechanism with AT [35].”
From The Effect of Exercise Training on Blood Lipids: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [35]
Skeletal muscle mass is positively correlated with serum HDL levels.
“Recent work has shown that skeletal muscle mass is positively correlated with serum HDL levels [35].”
From The Effect of Exercise Training on Blood Lipids: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [35]
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The Effect of Exercise Training on Blood Lipids: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Smart, N. A., Downes, D., van der Touw, T., Hada, S., Dieberg, G., Pearson, M. J., Wolden, M., King, N., & Goodman, S. P. J. (2025) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.1007/s40279-024-02115-z · Cited by 100 · see citing works
“With respect to RT, the mechanism by which HDL is raised is not well understood, but may be a similar or shared mechanism with AT [35].”
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- Authors
- Ji, M., Kim, Y., & Lee, S.
- Affiliations
- Incheon National University (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Sewon Lee
- Venue
- Journal of Men's Health
- Publisher
- MRE Press
- Published
- 2022
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1
- ISSN
- 1875-6859 (ISSN-L)
- 1875-6867
- OpenAlex
- W4291000510
- Cited by
- 3
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 0.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Journal of Men s Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Korean Society for the Study of Obesity
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Body Composition Measurement Techniques
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Emergency Medicine › HIV-related health complications and treatments
- Keywords
- skeletal muscle mass, HDL cholesterol, LDL/HDL ratio, cardiometabolic risk factors, arterial stiffness, pulse wave velocity, lipid profile, young men, skeletal muscle index, bioelectrical impedance analysis
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