Intake of BCAA Associated with Handgrip Strength in Older Adults

Written by Chrystal Moulton, Staff Writer. BCAAs from non-grain sources were positively associated with handgrip strength (P<0.05).  

In determining the clinical prognosis of elderly patients, measuring handgrip strength has proven more effective than measuring muscle mass ¹. Studies investigating handgrip strength in relation to sarcopenia showed that handgrip strength was associated with disability and premature death. ² Branched chain amino acids are known to promote muscle synthesis and improved muscular strength and tendon health ^3,4. In the present study ⁵, researchers analyzed existing data on branched chain amino acid (BCAA) intake and handgrip strength.

In the current study, researchers took data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) between 2014 to 2018. Data from this time period contained handgrip strength measurements. A total of 4852 participants were included in the analysis. Demographic data from that time period was assessed and broken down into quartiles of branched chain amino acid intake (BCAA). An amino acid database was established in order to determine the level of branched chain amino acid intake (BCAA) intake based on 24-hour recall data from the KNHANES 2014-2018 survey. Measurements for handgrip strength were taken three times on both the left and right hand in alternation with 60 second rest intervals in the survey. The mean value of handgrip strength measurement was used in this analysis. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the association between branched chainamino acid intake (BCAA) and handgrip strength.

Results from the analysis showed that among the test population, grains and grain products contributed roughly 43% to BCAA intakes. Meat and meat products were the second highest contributor to BCAA intake at roughly 22%. Multivariate regression analysis showed that after adjusting for all variables, only leucine was significantly associated with handgrip strength (P = 0.03). Further analysis also showed that BCAA from grains and grain products were negatively associated with handgrip strength. This was especially true after adjusting for all variables, in which case total BCAAs and valine remained significantly inversely associated with handgrip strength when obtained from grain or grain products (P<0.05). However, a significant positive association was observed for handgrip strength and BCAA obtained from non-grain food groups. This was true for isoleucine, leucine, valine, and total BCA intake.

This study was performed on the Korean population who get their protein mainly from rice and other plant-based sources. Some key takeaways from this study include:

1. BCAA obtained from plant-based sources was associated with lower handgrip strength. Therefore, BCAA intake from a variety of sources is important to increasing handgrip strength.
2. Leucine, among other branch chained amino acids, was significantly associated with handgrip strength even after adjusting for all associated variables. This highlights the importance of leucine in muscle maintenance and strength.

Further studies will be needed to understand the causal relationship between BCAA intake and handgrip strength.

Source: Park, Seonghee, Minjeong Chae, Hyoungsu Park, and Kyong Park. “Higher Branched-Chain Amino Acid Intake Is Associated with Handgrip Strength among Korean Older Adults.” Nutrients 13, no. 5 (2021): 1522.

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

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Posted June 24, 2021.

Chrystal Moulton BA, PMP, is a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with a focus on premedical studies and is a licensed project manager. She currently resides in Indianapolis, IN.

References:  

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