Exploring age-related changes in bone and muscle: Insights from radiomics and MRI

BACKGROUND: Age-related changes in muscle and bone can adversely affect musculoskeletal health. Current techniques often fail to capture subtle age-related changes in bone micro-architecture and muscle tissue. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a robust tool for analyzing age-related bone deterioration, while radiomics effectively captures subtle changes in muscle tissue by extracting intricate features. PURPOSE: This study investigates the relationship between radiomic features from calf muscles and tibial cortical bone free water T₁ with age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional MRI study was conducted with 34 healthy volunteers aged 30 to 62 years. Calf muscles were manually segmented under expert radiologist supervision, and 108 radiomics features were extracted from anterior, posterior, and lateral muscle groups using LIFEx software. Cortical bone free water T₁, a surrogate measure of cortical porosity and age-related deterioration, was quantified. The Spearman coefficient test was used to analyze correlations between cortical bone, radiomic features, and age. RESULTS: Significant correlations were observed between radiomic features of leg muscles and both age and cortical bone free water T₁ values. Age-related variations were particularly evident in texture-based features, including the histogram, Neighborhood Gray-Level Different Matrix, Gray Level Run Length Matrix, Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix, and Intensity (r > 0.4, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the utility of MR-based radiomics for capturing age-related changes in cortical bone and surrounding muscle groups in the lower extremities among healthy adults. The findings underscore the potential of radiomics to monitor early musculoskeletal changes associated with aging, with implications for risk stratification and preventative care.