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Dietary protein intake is associated with lean mass change in older, community-dwelling adults: the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study^1,2,3

¹ From the Sticht Center on Aging, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC (DKH, BJN, JD, and SBK); the National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD (TBH); the University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN (FAT); the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (ABN); the University of Georgia, Athens, GA (JSL); the University of Maryland, College Park, MD (NRS); and Vrije University, Amsterdam, Netherlands (MV)

Background: Dietary surveys suggest that many older, community-dwelling adults consume insufficient dietary protein, which may contribute to the age-related loss of lean mass (LM).

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the association between dietary protein and changes in total LM and nonbone appendicular LM (aLM) in older, community-dwelling men and women.

Design: Dietary protein intake was assessed by using an interviewer-administered 108-item food-frequency questionnaire in men and women aged 70–79 y who were participating in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study (n = 2066). Changes in LM and aLM over 3 y were measured by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The association between protein intake and 3-y changes in LM and aLM was examined by using multiple linear regression analysis adjusted for potential confounders.

Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, energy-adjusted protein intake was associated with 3-y changes in LM [β (SE): 8.76 (3.00), P = 0.004] and aLM [β (SE): 5.31 (1.64), P = 0.001]. Participants in the highest quintile of protein intake lost 40% less LM and aLM than did those in the lowest quintile of protein intake ( ± SE: –0.501 ± 0.106 kg compared with –0.883 ± 0.104 kg for LM; –0.400 ± 0.058 kg compared with –0.661 ± 0.057 kg for aLM; P for trend < 0.01). The associations were attenuated slightly after adjustment for change in fat mass, but the results remained significant.

Conclusion: Dietary protein may be a modifiable risk factor for sarcopenia in older adults and should be studied further to determine its effects on preserving LM in this population.

Key Words: Body composition • sarcopenia • dietary protein • aging

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