The association between eight dietary factors and sarcopenia: evidence from NHANES data

Sarcopenia is a generalized skeletal muscle disease that significantly affects daily life and increases the risk of falls, fractures, and other related complications. Recent studies have shown that dietary adjustments can effectively prevent and delay the onset of sarcopenia.

Cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2018 were used in this investigation. We employed weighted multivariable logistic regression models to investigate the relationship of eight dietary factors with sarcopenia, and further explored these associations using weighted restricted cubic splines (RCS) and subgroup analyses.

A total of 8,221 participants were included in the study, of whom 715 were diagnosed with sarcopenia. In the weighted multivariable logistic regression model (Model 2), after adjusting for confounding factors, a significant negative association was observed between the intake of macronutrients and the incidence of sarcopenia: energy (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.11-0.34), protein (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.26-0.55), dietary fiber (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.34-0.73), carbohydrates (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.38-0.85), total sugars (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.42-0.89), total fat (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.41-0.88), total saturated fatty acids (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.40-0.88), and total cholesterol (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.35-0.77). A substantial linear negative link in the occurrence of sarcopenia and these eight dietary factors was found using RCS analysis. Subgroup analyses further confirmed the robustness of the relationship between macronutrients and sarcopenia.

Increasing the intake of dietary fiber, protein, energy and fat, while appropriately managing carbohydrate and cholesterol intake, may help reduce the risk of sarcopenia.