Research Article: Association between dietary knowledge and muscle mass in Chinese older adults: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study
Abstract:
Objectives This study aims to explore the possible association between dietary knowledge and muscle mass in a Chinese population aged 60 years and above. Design Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Setting Data from the 2006 and 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) were used for this study. Participants A total of 1487 Chinese participants (44.38% males) aged 60 and above in the 2006 survey were included in the cross-sectional study. From the same study population, a total of 1023 participants (46.82% males) with normal muscle mass on the interview date of 2006 were included in the longitudinal study. Outcome measures Dietary knowledge was accessed by a validated CHNS questionnaire. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass was calculated using a validated anthropometric equation derived from a representative Chinese population. Based on the 2021 Chinese consensus on sarcopenia, the appendicular skeletal muscle mass was categorised as ‘normal’ or ‘low’ using sex-specific cut-off values. Results The prevalence of low muscle mass in the study population was 31.20%, with a higher prevalence in females (34.22%). People with low muscle mass have a significantly lower dietary knowledge score (mean difference: ?1.74, 95% CI ?2.20 to ?1.29). In the cross-sectional analysis, one score higher in dietary knowledge score was associated with a 4% lower odds of low muscle mass (OR=0.96, 95% CI 0.93 to 0.99). Compared with people in the lowest quartile of dietary knowledge, people in the highest quartile have a 44% lower odds of low muscle mass (OR=0.56, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.91). In the longitudinal analysis, no significant association was found between dietary knowledge and low muscle mass, yet the upper 95%?CI was close to one (HR=0.97, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.01). Conclusions Sufficient dietary knowledge may play a protective role in maintaining normal muscle mass in Chinese adults aged 60 or above.
Introduction:
A normal muscle mass is essential for maintaining one’s daily activities. Muscle mass decreases as the body ages. This decline accelerates after age 50, with an average annual decline rate of 1.5%–5.0% of total muscle mass. 1 As a major component of muscle mass, appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) is crucial in functions such as movement. The ASM index (ASMI), which is the ASM divided by squared height in metres, has been used in categorising low muscle mass. 2 Low muscle mass is associated with various…
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