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Changes in Body Composition (Bone, Muscle, Adipose Tissue) with Age...
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Changes in Body Composition (Bone, Muscle, Adipose Tissue) with Age and Accompanying Biomarkers for Each Tissue

A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Endocrinology and Clinical Metabolic Research".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2026 | Viewed by 2052

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jasminka Ilich

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Successful Longevity, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA
Interests: metabolism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Although body composition (including bone, muscle, adipose tissue, etc.) plays a critical role in health and may be an underlying condition in many chronic diseases, its changes with age have not been comprehensively studied. It was assumed that, in women, decreases in bone and muscle and increases in fat tissue occur with menopause, whereas there was no specific timing for body composition changes in men. The relatively newly identified syndrome known as oateosarcopenic adiposity (OSA) denotes the simultaneous deterioration of bone (osteopenia/osteoporosis) and muscle (sarcopenia/dynapenia) with the increased presence of body fat, either as overtly related to overweight/obesity or redistributed and/or infiltrated fat. With this syndrome in mind, the purpose of this Special Issue is to bring more insight into body composition changes with age or the metabolic nature of each of these tissues. We aim to eventually obtain a better understanding of OSA by investigating the following:

  • The relationship between chronological age and body composition (bone, muscle, and/or fat), highlighting the spikes at which these components peak or nadir in generally healthy men and women.
  • The biomarkers for each tissue (bone, muscle, and/or adipose) or their combinations that may indicate existing impairments in each tissue and/or ultimately the presence of OSA.

Dr. Jasminka Ilich
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metabolites is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bone
  • muscle
  • adipose tissue
  • osteosarcopenic adiposity
  • nutrition, physical activity, and lifestyle habits influencing body composition
  • inflammatory markers

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 219 KB  
Article
Circulating Gremlin-1 Reflects Age-Associated Metabolic Changes in Women
by Rahma M. Alyami and Khalid Al-Regaiey
Metabolites 2026, 16(2), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo16020141 - 19 Feb 2026
Viewed by 618
Abstract
Background: Menopause is accompanied by hormonal alterations that are closely linked to changes in body composition, insulin sensitivity, and cardiovascular risk in women. Gremlin-1 has recently been identified as an adipokine involved in metabolic and reproductive aging; however, its associations with endocrine and [...] Read more.
Background: Menopause is accompanied by hormonal alterations that are closely linked to changes in body composition, insulin sensitivity, and cardiovascular risk in women. Gremlin-1 has recently been identified as an adipokine involved in metabolic and reproductive aging; however, its associations with endocrine and lipid biomarkers across the menopausal transition remain incompletely defined. Objectives: To evaluate the relationships between plasma Gremlin-1 and IGF-1, HDL cholesterol, estradiol, and age in reproductive-aged and postmenopausal women. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 88 women aged 18–65 years, stratified by menopausal status (reproductive-aged vs. postmenopausal). Plasma concentrations of Gremlin-1, growth hormone, IGF-1, insulin, estradiol (E2), glucose, HbA1c, and a standard lipid profile were measured. Results: Plasma Gremlin-1 concentrations were significantly higher in postmenopausal women compared with reproductive-aged women (p < 0.001). Age (p = 0.013), but not menopause status (p = 0.874), was associated with Gremlin-1 levels. Gremlin-1 showed a strong inverse association with IGF-1 (p = 0.003) and a negative correlation with HDL cholesterol (p = 0.03) in non-obese women; however this association disappeared after adjustment for age. Conclusion: Circulating Gremlin-1 primarily reflects chronological aging and associated endocrine–metabolic changes rather than menopausal status or adiposity per se. While unadjusted associations with metabolic biomarkers are detectable, these relationships are largely attributable to aging. Gremlin-1 may therefore serve as a marker of systemic aging-related endocrine–metabolic remodeling rather than a specific indicator of ovarian aging or adipose tissue dysfunction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changes in Body Composition (Bone, Muscle, Adipose Tissue) with Age and Accompanying Biomarkers for Each Tissue)
13 pages, 910 KB  
Article
Extracellular Water and Phase Angle, Markers of Heightened Inflammatory State, and Their Extrapolative Potential for Body Composition Outcomes in Adults
by Selma Cvijetić, Dario Boschiero, Hyehyung Shin, Andrew S. Reilly, Sarah T. Noorani, Nadja Vasiljevic and Jasminka Z. Ilich
Metabolites 2026, 16(1), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo16010040 - 2 Jan 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1089
Abstract
Background/Aim: Extracellular-to-total body water ratio (ECW/TBW) and phase angle (PhA, PA) reflect hydration and cellular health, but their relationship with bone, muscle, and fat, as primary components of body composition, is not fully elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate sex-specific differences in body [...] Read more.
Background/Aim: Extracellular-to-total body water ratio (ECW/TBW) and phase angle (PhA, PA) reflect hydration and cellular health, but their relationship with bone, muscle, and fat, as primary components of body composition, is not fully elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate sex-specific differences in body composition and assess the diagnostic potential of ECW/TBW and PhA for identifying low bone/muscle mass, as well as increased fat mass, in generally healthy adults. Methods: This post hoc analysis utilized data from a multicenter, cross-sectional, Italian study (2010–2014) that included 20–90 years adults (n = 9717). Body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance (BIA-ACC, BioTekna®), assessing bone, muscle mass, fat mass, ECW, TBW, and PhA. Low bone/muscle mass, as well as adiposity, were defined using standard cutoffs. Associations were examined using nonparametric tests and multiple regression analyses. Results: The mean age of men and women was similar (mean ~48 years). Men had significantly higher body mass index (BMI), intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT%), T-score (bone), S-score (muscle), and PhA, while women had significantly higher fat mass (FM%) and ECW/TBW. ECW/TBW showed excellent discrimination for low muscle mass (AUC 0.845–0.922) and low bone mass (AUC 0.696–0.885), outperforming PhA. Neither ECW/TBW nor PhA reliably predicted increased fat mass. Regression models indicated ECW/TBW was strongly associated with age, sex, BMI, fat mass, and bone/muscle scores (R2 = 0.943), whereas PhA’s association was moderate (R2 = 0.368). Conclusions: ECW/TBW and PhA reflected sex-specific differences for body composition and effectively identified low muscle and bone mass (with better predictability of the former). Both showed a limited predictive ability for fat mass. Overall, both parameters provide complementary insights into sarcopenia and osteopenia and could be used for easy and non-invasive screening for these conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changes in Body Composition (Bone, Muscle, Adipose Tissue) with Age and Accompanying Biomarkers for Each Tissue)
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