Written by Chrystal Moulton, Staff Writer. This study found that older participants with a lower serum n-3 level had a significantly higher risk of developing sarcopenia after controlling for potential confounders.
Sarcopenia is the gradual loss of muscular tissue common with aging 1,2. Individuals with sarcopenia have low muscular strength, severe weight loss, and imbalance 1,2. Sarcopenia is associated with high mortality and poor quality of life in the elderly population. Individuals with sarcopenia are high fall risks and thus suffer disability and loss of independence 3. Nutritional support is generally recommended to slow the progression of sarcopenia 4. Recently, researchers have turned to omega-3 fatty acid, a well-known anti-inflammatory component, to discover its role in the progression of the disease 5. Since aging is associated with low grade inflammation throughout the body, researchers are interested in determining if omega-3 fatty acids could support muscle metabolism. In this cross-sectional study 6, investigators assessed the relationship between serum omega-3 fatty acid levels and sarcopenia in the elderly Asian population.
Individuals who went to the Asian Medical Center for a comprehensive geriatric assessment between April 2019 and April 2020, were automatically recruited for the study. Participants with 1 year life expectancy, symptomatic heart failure or end stage renal failure were disqualified. Eligible participants had blood drawn to test circulating omega-3 fatty acid levels and underwent assessment for sarcopenia which included appendicular skeletal mass (ASM), handgrip strength, physical performance testing (standing balance, walking speed, and repeated chair stands). Sarcopenia was diagnosed as having low muscle mass (SMI < 7.0 kg/m2 for men and < 5.7 kg/m2 for women), low physical performance score (walking speed < 1.0 m/s, 5-time chair stand test ≥12s, or short physical performance battery test (SPPB) score of ≤ 9 points), and low muscle strength (handgrip strength < 28 kg for men, <18 kg for women) according to the 2019 Consensus Guidelines of the Asian Working Group for sarcopenia.1
A total of 125 subjects qualified for the study. Of them, 21 had sarcopenia (14 women, 7 men; average age 71.9 ± 4.7) and 104 had no sarcopenia (average age 68.6 ± 6.5). After adjusting for age, sex, and BMI, researchers found the participants with low muscle strength had 32.4% lower omega-3 fatty acid levels compared to those without low muscle strength (p= 0.030). Similarly, participants with sarcopenia had 36.5% lower omega-3 fatty acid levels than those without sarcopenia (p= 0.040). Researchers also assessed the occurrence of sarcopenia, low muscle mass, low muscle strength, and low physical performance with increase of 1 standard deviation of serum omega-3 fatty acid levels. They found that with each standard deviation increase of serum omega-3 fatty acid level, there was a lower occurrence risk of sarcopenia (OR= 0.29, p= 0.015) and low muscle strength (OR= 0.40, p= 0.028). They also found that hand grip strength was positively associated with serum concentration of omega-3 fatty acids (β= 0.138, p= 0.038) even after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI. In further assessments, researchers found that whether they used absolute concentration or relative values (expressed as a percentage of total fatty acids), participants with sarcopenia and low muscle strength consistently had lower serum omega-3 fatty acid levels than their counterparts.
Overall, the study demonstrated a relationship between lower serum levels of omega-3 fatty acids and the occurrence of sarcopenia and low muscular strength. More long-term studies would be needed to validate these findings and determine any causal link between serum omega-3 and sarcopenia.
© 2020 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 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Click here to read the full text study.
Posted February 16, 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:
- Chen LK, Woo J, Assantachai P, et al. Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia: 2019 Consensus Update on Sarcopenia Diagnosis and Treatment. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2020;21(3):300-307.e302.
- Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Bahat G, Bauer J, et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing. 2019;48(4):601.
- Hirani V, Blyth F, Naganathan V, et al. Sarcopenia Is Associated With Incident Disability, Institutionalization, and Mortality in Community-Dwelling Older Men: The Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2015;16(7):607-613.
- Dent E, Morley JE, Cruz-Jentoft AJ, et al. International Clinical Practice Guidelines for Sarcopenia (ICFSR): Screening, Diagnosis and Management. J Nutr Health Aging. 2018;22(10):1148-1161.
- Dupont J, Dedeyne L, Dalle S, Koppo K, Gielen E. The role of omega-3 in the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2019;31(6):825-836.
- Jang IY, Jung HW, Park JH, et al. Lower Serum n-3 Fatty Acid Level in Older Adults with Sarcopenia. Nutrients. 2020;12(10).
