Fig. 1

Heterogeneity of representative clinical parameters by age group. The figure shows the trends in relative coefficient of variations (CV) (i.e., the CV of the 45–59 years age group was set as 1) for the clinical parameters related to a muscle mass or visceral proteins, b dietary intake, and c body mass or physique. The CVs for indices of muscle mass or visceral proteins became larger among the older population, whereas the CVs for those of body mass became smaller. Indices for dietary intake tended to be dispersed in the very old population. CV coefficient of variance, %CGR percent creatinine generation ratio, a surrogate marker of muscle mass, Cr creatinine, Alb albumin, nPCR normalized protein catabolic rate, BW body weight, BMI body mass index, ref reference