ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1657426
This article is part of the Research TopicInteractions Between Diet, Sleep and Musculoskeletal Health: Beyond a Disease-Specific PerspectiveView all 5 articles
Association between dietary animal-derived branched-chain amino acids and sarcopenia in older adults: a cross-sectional study based on Chinese community
Provisionally accepted
Tianfeng Zhang1,2,3Caiyan Zhang1,2,3
Hongzhen Du2,3Yaping Chang1,2,3Kaijia Zhao2,3
Hongmei Xue2,3Mingyue Liang2,3
Zengning Li1,2,3*- 1Hebei Medical University School of Public Health, Shijiazhuang, China
- 2The First hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- 3Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Health, Shijiazhuang, China
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Background: The free-living dietary intake of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs, including leucine, isoleucine, and valine) may have an impact on sarcopenia. This study aimed to compare the dietary BCAAs of animal sources related to sarcopenia in older individuals aged ≥55 years living in Chinese communities. Method: We enrolled 367 older individuals (112 males and 255 females) aged over 55 years in 6 communities. Sarcopenia was diagnosed based on Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS2019). The free-living dietary intake of BCAAs was evaluated by using a 64-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Multivariable logistic regression models were applied to examine the association between BCAAs and sarcopenia. Results: The overall prevalence of sarcopenia was 20.7% (76 in 367). The mean daily energy intake, protein, fat, and BCAAs were significantly lower in the sarcopenia older adults than in the non-sarcopenia group (p < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed that increased intake of leucine (OR: 0.121, 95% CI: 0.045-0.327, p < 0.001), isoleucine (OR: 0.160; 95% CI: 0.061-0.421, p < 0.001), and valine (OR: 0.202; 95% CI: 0.076-0.534, p = 0.001) were associated with the decrease risk of sarcopenia. When stratified by food sources, animal-derived BCAAs intake was significantly associated with sarcopenia in older adults (OR: 0.819; 95% CI: 0.675-0.995, p = 0.044). However, no such association was found for plant-derived BCAAs (OR: 0.903; 95% CI: 0.742-1.098, p = 0.305). Conclusion: High intake of dietary BCAAs was strongly associated with lower risk of sarcopenia in older adults. Animal-derived BCAAs intake may decrease the risk of sarcopenia in older adults, whereas no such effect was observed for plant-derived BCAAs.
Keywords: Sarcopenia, branched-chain amino acid, Animal-derived, Aging, dietary
Received: 01 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Zhang, Du, Chang, Zhao, Xue, Liang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zengning Li, Hebei Medical University School of Public Health, Shijiazhuang, China
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