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Automated segmentation reveals sex-divergent age-related decline in temporalis muscle volume among Asian adults

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Temporalis muscle measurements are recognized biomarkers of sarcopenia. However, manual assessments on computed tomography (CT) are time-consuming and prone to interobserver variability, and population-specific normative data for Asian populations are limited. A Multi-Scale Residual Dense Attention U-Net was developed for automated temporalis muscle segmentation from head CT images and validated using fivefold cross-validation. Age- and sex-specific normative values were derived from 320 Taiwanese adults (160 males and 160 females) spanning eight age groups from 20 to 99 years. The model achieved a Dice coefficient of 0.914 and an F1 score of 0.958. In males, peak temporalis muscle volume (TMV) was 36.9 mL at 20-29 years, followed by a 38% decline to the oldest age group. In females, peak TMV was 27.9 mL at 30-39 years, with a 60% decline across the lifespan. Females exhibited a markedly faster rate of decline than males during midlife, with rates converging after 65 years of age. Temporalis muscle area showed a strong correlation with TMV (r = 0.882, p < 0.001). This study establishes the first comprehensive age- and sex-specific normative database for TMV in Taiwanese adults. The proposed approach enables standardized muscle mass assessment from routine head CT scans.

Source: Scientific Reports

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-59470-2

Authors: Yao-Chung Yang, Ming-Chan Lee, Cheng-Tang Pan, Yow-Ling Shiue

Institutions: National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, National Institutes of Applied Research, National Center for Instrumentation Research

Language: English

Topic: Nutrition and Health in Aging

Subfield: Physiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,690