Dietary Patterns Related to Appendicular Skeletal Muscle Mass: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008–2011

Abstract

Objective: Muscle mass plays an important role in healthy aging among elderly adults. We investigated the association between dietary patterns and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) among 3,488 adults ages 60 years or older.Methods: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data for 2008–2011 were analyzed. Dietary information from a food frequency questionnaire was utilized. To identify dietary patterns, factor analysis was performed. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was used to ascertain ASM. To examine the association between dietary patterns and ASM, a multivariable regression model was used after adjusting for potential confounding factors.Results: Two dietary patterns were identified: Healthy and Western dietary patterns. The Healthy dietary pattern was characterized as high frequencies of intake in vegetables, fish, fruits, seaweeds, legumes, mushrooms, whole grains, potatoes, eggs, dairy products, and red meat. In contrast, the Western dietary pattern was characterized by high intake of red meat, bread, noodles, fast food, rice cake, poultry, and soft drinks. Men showed a significant association between the Healthy dietary pattern and higher ASM, even after adjusting for covariates (p value =0.034).Conclusion: In this cross-sectional study, we observed that men ages 60 years and older with the Healthy dietary pattern had higher muscle mass.