Association between dietary knowledge and muscle mass in Chinese older adults: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study

Liu, Q., Wang, L., Ma, Y. and Geng, Y. (2023) Association between dietary knowledge and muscle mass in Chinese older adults: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study. BMJ Open, 13(12), e075964. (doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075964)

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.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: We are grateful to research grant funding from the National Institute for Health (NIH), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) for R01 HD30880 and R01 HD38700, National Institute on Aging (NIA) for R01 AG065357, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) for R01 DK104371 and P30 DK056350, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for R01 HL108427, the NIH Fogarty grant D43 TW009077, the Carolina Population Center for P2C HD050924 and P30 AG066615 since 1989, and the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Ministry of Health for support for CHNS 2009, Chinese National Human Genome Center at Shanghai since 2009, and Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Prevention and Control since 2011.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Liu, Qiaoling
• Authors: Liu, Q., Wang, L., Ma, Y., and Geng, Y.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health
• Journal Name: BMJ Open
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• ISSN: 2044-6055
• ISSN (Online): 2044-6055
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023
• First Published: First published in BMJ Open 13(12):e075964
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence