{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,31]],"date-time":"2026-10-31T00:43:51Z","timestamp":1793407431665,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,17]],"date-time":"2025-09-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758067200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Sarcopenia is characterized by a decline in muscle mass and function. Its association with osteoporosis\u2014referred to as osteosarcopenia\u2014is linked to increased risks of falls, fractures, frailty, and mortality. Therefore, there is a growing need for accurate and accessible tools to assess muscle mass. Ultrasonography has emerged as a promising modality in recent years. The aim of our study was to compare rectus femoris ultrasound parameters in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis to healthy controls and to evaluate its diagnostic performance against a reference method. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study was conducted including 88 postmenopausal women with a mean age of 65.7 \u00b1 7.5 years. Functional status was evaluated using handgrip strength and gait speed. Rectus femoris ultrasonography was performed, measuring muscle thickness (MT), cross-sectional area (CSA), pennation angle (PA), and echo intensity (EI). Body composition was analyzed using bioelectrical impedance analysis, and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) was estimated using a validated predictive equation. All participants had undergone dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry within the previous year, and FRAX scores were calculated. Results: Women with osteoporosis had significantly lower muscle thickness compared to controls after adjusting for age and BMI. Rectus femoris MT and CSA were significantly correlated with predicted ASM (r = 0.428, p &lt; 0.01; r = 0.462, p &lt; 0.01). The area under the curve (AUC) for MT in identifying low muscle mass was 0.732 (95% CI 0.601 to 0.862, p = 0.001) at a cut-off value of 1.38 cm. CSA had an AUC of 0.789 (95% CI 0.678 to 0.901, p &lt; 0.001) at a cut-off value of 4.48 cm2. CSA, MT, and PA were significant independent predictors of osteoporosis regardless of bone mineral density but not of FRAX parameters. Conclusions: Rectus femoris ultrasonography is a potentially reliable and rapid method for assessing muscle mass. Rectus femoris ultrasound parameters may serve as predictors of osteoporosis, independent of bone mineral density.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14186531","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,17]],"date-time":"2025-09-17T11:00:00Z","timestamp":1758106800000},"page":"6531","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Bridging Muscle and Bone Health: Rectus Femoris Ultrasound Parameters Predict Osteoporosis and Identify Low Muscle Mass in Romanian Postmenopausal Women"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1533-9093","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miruna M.","family":"Soare","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Medicine and Pharmacy, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea I.","family":"Gasparik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health and Health Management, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Horatiu V.","family":"Popoviciu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0679-1379","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ionela M.","family":"Pascanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Endocrinology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1093\/ageing\/afy169","article-title":"Sarcopenia: Revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis","volume":"48","author":"Bahat","year":"2019","journal-title":"Age Ageing"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cger.2016.08.002","article-title":"Pathogenesis and Management of Sarcopenia","volume":"33","author":"Dhillon","year":"2017","journal-title":"Clin. 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