C-reactive protein and muscle-related measures over 14 years in Chinese community-dwelling older adults

Inflammation has been proposed to initiate the development of cachexia and is a driver of skeletal muscle loss. It raised the question of whether inflammation may also predict the age-related decline in muscle-related measures. This study explored the longitudinal association between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and muscle-related measures over a 14-year follow-up period, among Chinese community-dwelling older adults ≥65 years.

Data was derived from the Mr. and Ms. Osteoporosis (Hong Kong) study. hsCRP was measured at baseline as a marker of inflammation. Muscle-related measures including handgrip strength, gait speed, chair-stand test (CST) and appendicular skeletal muscle mass/height² (ASM/ht², using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) were measured at baseline, 2-, 4-, 7- (except CST and ASM/ht²) and 14-year follow up. Adjusted linear mixed models were used to examine associations between baseline sex-specific tertiles of hsCRP and changes in muscle-related measures.

2534 participants were included (mean age 72.3 ± 5.1 years, 49.4% female). There were significant time changes in all muscle-related measures (all p for time <0.001). Participants in the higher tertile of hsCRP had poorer handgrip strength and gait speed and a higher ASM/ht² compared with those in the lower tertile of hsCRP (all p < 0.05). A higher tertile of hsCRP did not predict the decline in muscle-related measures (all p for hsCRP tertile x time interaction >0.05).

This prospective study suggests that, among Chinese community-dwelling older adults, baseline inflammatory state as measured by hsCRP was not associated with the decline in muscle-related measures over a long period of time.