Abstract
ObjectiveA major reason for the loss of mobility in elderly people is the gradual loss of lean body mass known as sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is associated with a lower quality of life and higher healthcare costs. The benefit of strategies that include nutritional intervention, timing of intervention, and physical exercise to improve muscle loss unclear as finding from studies investigating this issue have been inconsistent. We have performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the ability of protein or amino acid supplementation to augment lean body mass or strength of leg muscles in elderly patients.MethodsNine studies met the inclusion criteria of being a prospective comparative study or randomized controlled trial (RCT) that compared the efficacy of an amino acid or protein supplement intervention with that of a placebo in elderly people (≥65 years) for the improvement of lean body mass (LBM), leg muscle strength or reduction associated with sarcopenia.ResultsThe overall difference in mean change from baseline to the end of study in LBM between the treatment and placebo groups was 0.34 kg which was not significant (P = 0.386). The overall differences in mean change from baseline in double leg press and leg extension were 2.14 kg (P = 0.748) and 2.28 kg (P = 0.265), respectively, between the treatment group and the placebo group.ConclusionsThese results indicate that amino acid/protein supplements did not increase lean body mass gain and muscle strength significantly more than placebo in a diverse elderly population.
Highlights
Sarcopenia is an age related loss of muscle mass and strength, and is associated with a lower quality of life resulting from a reduced ability to perform daily living tasks [1]
Nine studies met the inclusion criteria of being a prospective comparative study or randomized controlled trial (RCT) that compared the efficacy of an amino acid or protein supplement intervention with that of a placebo in elderly people ($65 years) for the improvement of lean body mass (LBM), leg muscle strength or reduction associated with sarcopenia
Inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis required that an article be published in a peer-reviewed reviewed journal that described a prospective study or randomized controlled trial (RCT) which compared the efficacy of an amino acid or protein supplement with placebo in improving lean body mass, leg muscle strength in elderly people ($65 years of age)
Summary
Sarcopenia is an age related loss of muscle mass and strength, and is associated with a lower quality of life resulting from a reduced ability to perform daily living tasks [1]. Inadequate nutrition, oxidative stress, low physical activity levels, inflammation, and reduced hormone concentrations contribute to age related muscle loss [6]. Possible strategies that reliably increase muscle mass and strength in the elderly have been actively investigated, but conclusions on the benefits of different nutritional interventions, timing of administration, and physical exercise from studies have been conflicting [7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
