Table 3.
Summary of the effect of nutrition on sarcopenia in randomised, controlled studies meeting the inclusion criteria
| Reference | Population | Number studied (M/F) | Age, years, mean (SD) [range] | PEDro Score | Intervention (duration) | Outcomes measured | Main results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonnefoy et al. [24] | Frail, care institution | 57 (7/50) | 83 | 5 | RET + SUPP (400 kcal, 30 g of protein/day); CON + SUPP; RET + PLA; PLA + CON (9 months) | MM (FFM by labelled water), MP, PP (chair rise, 6-min walk, stair climb) | SUPP significantly increased MP at 3 months versus CON (P = 0.03), but not at 9 months SUPP did not improve MM or PP versus CON |
| Bunout et al. [25] | Community-dwelling | 98 (36/62) | [≥70] | 4 | RET + SUPP (400 kcal, 13 g of protein/day); SUPP; RET; CON (18 months) | MM (DEXA), MS (biceps and quadriceps strength), PP (12-min walk) | SUPP alone had no effect on MM, MS or PP SUPP did not show an additive effect over RET outcome |
| Chale et al. [30] | Sedentary, community-dwelling | 80 (33/47) | [70–85] | 10 | WPS (378 kcal, 40 g of protein/day) + RET; CON (378 kcal, no protein) + RET (6 months) | MM (DEXA, CT scan), MS (KE), PPPP (stair climb, chair rise, 400 m walk, SPPB) | WPS + RET did not improve MM, MS or PP significantly versus CON + RET |
| Tieland et al. [37] | Frail, community-dwelling | 62 (21/41) | PLA: 79 (6) Protein: 78 (9) [≥65] |
10 | Protein (30 g/day) + RET; PLA + RET (24 weeks) |
MM (DEXA), MS (leg press, LE, HS), PP (SPPB) | Protein + RET significantly improved MM (P = 0.006), but not MS or PP versus PLA + RET |
| Tieland et al. [38] | Frail, community-dwelling | 65 (29/36) | PLA: 81 (±1 SEM) Protein 78 (±1 SEM) ≥65 |
8 | Protein (30 g/day); PLA; (24 weeks) | MM (DEXA), MS (leg press, LE, HS), PP (SPPB) | PP improved significantly with protein supplementation (P = 0.02), but not MM or MS versus PLA |
| Dillon et al. [33] | Healthy individuals | 14 (0/14) | All: 68 (±2) PLA: 69 (±3) Supplement: 67 (±1) |
7 | EAA (HIS, ILE, LEU, LYS, MET, PHE, THR, VAL); PLA; (3 months) | MM (DEXA), MS (bicep curl, triceps extension, LE, leg curl) | EAA increased MM versus baseline, (P < 0.05) There were no changes in MS |
| Kim et al. [35] | Community-dwelling | 155 (0/155) | 79 (2.9) [≥75] |
8 | EAA (LEU, LYS, VAL, ILE, THR, PHE) + RET; EAA; RET; HE (3 months) | MM (BIA), MS (KE), PP (max. walking speed) | EAA alone improved PP, but not MM and MS versus HE EAA + RET improved leg (not appendicular or total) MM (P < 0.007) and, MS (P = 0.02) versus HE PP was not more improved by the addition of EAA than by RET alone |
| Flakoll et al. [34] | Community-dwelling | 57 (0/57) | 76.7 [62–90] |
8 | ARG + HMB + LYS; PLA (12 weeks) | MM (BIA), MS (isometric leg strength, HS), PP (get up and go) |
MS (P ≤ 0.05) and PP (P = 0.002) significantly improved with ARG + HMB + LYS versus PLA ARG + HMB + LYS did not significantly improve MM versus PLA |
| Deutz et al. [32] | Healthy individuals on bed rest | 19 (4/15) | PLA: 67.1 (±1.7) HMB: 67.4 (±1.4) [60–76] |
10 | HMB; PLA Bed rest (10 days) + rehabilitation (8 weeks) |
MM (DEXA), MS (KE, leg press), PP (SPPB, get up and go, 5-item PPB) | Bed rest caused a significant decrease in MM (P = 0.02) in the PLA group, but MM was preserved in the HMB group Changes in MS and PP were not significant for HMB versus PLA |
| Stout et al. [36] | Community-dwelling | 98 (49/49) | 73 (±1 SEM) [≥65] |
9 | Phase I: HMB; PLA (24 weeks) Phase II: PLA + RET; HMB + RET (24 weeks) |
MM (DEXA), MS (isokinetic leg strength, HS), PP (get up and go) |
HMB alone significantly improved some, but not all measures of MS versus PLA. No significant changes were found in MM and PP with HMB versus PLA Adding HMB to RET did not improve any parameters over RET alone |
| Vukovich et al. [39] | Community-dwelling | 31 (15/16) | 70 (±1) | 10 | HMB + RET; PLA + RET (8 weeks) | MM (DEXA, CT scan), MS (misc. upper and lower body strength press, flexion and extension measurements) | MM improved with HMB + RET versus PLA + RET, but not significantly (P = 0.08) MS did not improve with HMB + RET versus PLA + RET |
| Cornish and Chilibeck [31] | Community-dwelling | 51 (28/23) | 65.4 (±0.8) | 10 | ALA + RET; PLA + RET (12 weeks) | MM (DEXA, US), MS (leg press, chest press) |
ALA + RET had minimal effect on MM or MS versus PLA + RET |
ALA, α-linolenic acid; ARG, arginine; BIA, bioelectrical impedance analysis; CON, controls; CT, computerised tomography; DEXA, dual X-ray absorptiometry; EAA, essential amino acid; F, female; FFM, fat-free mass; HE, health education; HIS, histidine; HMB, β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate; ILE, isoleucine; HS, hand-grip strength; KE, knee extension; LE, leg extension; LEU, leucine; LYS, lysine; M, male; min, minute; MET, methionine; MM, muscle mass; MP, muscle power; MS, muscle strength; NS, not significant; PHE, phenylalanine; PLA, placebo; PP, physical performance; RET, resistance exercise training; SD, standard deviation; SPPB, standard physical performance battery; SUPP, nutritional supplement; THR, threonine; VAL, valine; WPS, whey protein supplement.