Abstract
(1) Background: The present work aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies, in order to investigate the association of relative protein intake and physical function in older adults; (2) Methods: Observational studies, that investigated the association between protein intake and physical function in older adults, were retrieved from MEDLINE, SCOPUS, CINAHL, AgeLine, EMBASE, and Cochrane-CENTRAL. Two independent researchers conducted study selection and data extraction; (3) Results: Very high protein intake (≥1.2 g/kg/day) and high protein intake (≥1.0 g/kg/day) groups showed better lower limb physical functioning and walking speed (WS) performance, respectively, in comparison to individuals who present relative low protein (<0.80 g/kg/day) intake. On the other hand, relative high protein intake does not seem to propitiate a better performance on isometric handgrip (IHG) and chair rise in comparison to relative low protein intake. In addition, there were no significant differences in the physical functioning of high and middle protein intake groups; (4) Conclusions: In conclusion, findings of the present study indicate that a very high (≥1.2 g/kg/day) and high protein intake (≥1.0 g/kg/day) are associated with better lower-limb physical performance, when compared to low protein (<0.80 g/kg/day) intake, in community-dwelling older adults. These findings act as additional evidence regarding the potential need to increase protein guidelines to above the current recommendations. However, large randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm the addictive effects of high-protein diets (≥1.0 g/kg/day) in comparison to the current recommendations on physical functioning. All data are available in the Open ScienceFramework.
Highlights
Sarcopenia is a geriatric condition characterized by progressive muscle atrophy accompanied by loss of muscle strength and/or function [1]
Of the 4392 registers recovered from electronic databases and hand search, 4253 records were excluded based on duplicate data, title or abstract
The present study was designed to investigate the available evidence regarding the association relative protein intake and physical function in older adults. Findings of this investigation indicate of relative protein intake and physical function in older adults. Findings of this investigation indicate that individuals with relatively very high (≥1.2 g/kg/day) and high (≥1.0 g/kg/day) protein intakes that individuals with relatively very high (≥1.2 g/kg/day) and high (≥1.0 g/kg/day) protein intakes show higher mobility and lower limb physical functioning, respectively, in comparison to those with show higher mobility and lower limb physical functioning, respectively, in comparison to those with relative low protein (
Summary
Sarcopenia is a geriatric condition characterized by progressive muscle atrophy accompanied by loss of muscle strength and/or function [1]. Nutrients 2018, 10, 1330 and mortality [3,4,5,6] In this sense, adequate protein intake and physical exercise have been suggested as the two main strategies to counteract sarcopenia, and prevent its deleterious effects [7,8]. The established guidelines recommended for a number of agencies, such as the Dietary Allowance (RDA), RDI (recommended daily intake) [9], and the RNI (reference nutrient intake) [10] have been questioned, and researchers have discussed if the recommended protein intake is enough to maintain the functional status or even prevent its decline and muscle atrophy in older adults [11,12]. Most critical are regarding the RDA, so that the main concern is that the amount of protein recommended is based on nitrogen balance studies, which may be associated with a methodological bias [11,13]
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