Abstract P254: Association Between Protein Intake and Prevalence of Sarcopenia in Japanese Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

Background and Aim: To determine the protein intake associated with the prevalence of sarcopenia, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 1251 community-dwelling older Japanese aged 60 years and older. Methods: The mean age of the participants was 68.8 years, and the percentage of women was 56.7%. Sarcopenia was defined according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 by low muscle mass (skeletal muscle mass), muscle strength (grip strength), and physical performance (gait speed). Protein and energy intake were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Logistic regression models were used to estimate the multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) of the prevalence of sarcopenia according to gender-specific tertiles of protein intake as a percentage of total energy. Corresponding analyses were done also for protein intake per day and for protein intake per kg of body weight, separately, instead of protein intake as a percentage of total energy. Results: The prevalence of sarcopenia was 8.0% (100/1251). The median protein intake as a percentage of total energy, protein intake per day, and protein intake per body weight by gender were, in order, 11.8%E, 59.2 g/day, and 0.9 g/kg/day for males and 14.1%E, 54.7 g/day, and 1.0 g/kg/day for females. Since there was no gender interaction in the association between each protein intake and the prevalence of sarcopenia, we performed the analysis for males and females combined. The multivariable adjusted ORs (95%CI) of the prevalence of sarcopenia was lower in the high protein intake as a percentage of total energy (>12.6%E in males and >15.2%E in females, respectively) group (0.47 (0.27-0.83)) than in the low intake (<11.1%E in males and <13.4%E in females, respectively) group; the linear trend was significant (p =0.009). Similarly, we found a significantly inverse association for sarcopenia prevalence at protein intakes higher than 54.4 g/day for males and 50.6 g/day for females, compared to those with lower intakes. However, there was no association between protein intake per body weight and the prevalence of sarcopenia. We obtained similar results when the participants were restricted to those 65 years and older as a sensitivity analysis. Conclusion: Significant inverse associations were found between the prevalence of sarcopenia and protein intake in community-dwelling older Japanese. However, we should consider that protein intake assessed by the FFQ is often underestimated when discussing absolute protein intake for sarcopenia prevention.