Protein intake could mitigate grip strength loss

BALTIMORE — Protein intake was associated with grip strength among adult patients from the Framingham Osteoporosis Study, according to data presented here at ASBMR 2013.

“Some evidence suggests that greater dietary protein reduces the age-associated loss of lean mass in adults. However, the role of dietary protein with muscle strength remains unclear. It is hypothesized that differences in lean mass may explain the potential association between dietary protein and muscle strength,” Kelsey Mangano, PhD, RD, nutritional epidemiologist and postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife Musculoskeletal Center and Harvard Medical School and a winner of an ASBMR Young Investigator Award, said during an oral poster presentation.

Mangano and colleagues examined the grip strength by isometric hand dynamometer (three trials per hand) of 1,535 men and women (mean age, 58 years). Mean baseline grip strength was 32.7 kg, according to data.

Kelsey Mangano

Food questionnaires were administered to determine the amount of protein consumed by participants. Mean daily total, animal and plant protein intake was 79 g, 55 g and 24 g, respectively. Follow-up occurred at approximately 4 years.

There was a positive protective association between dietary protein and percentage change in grip strength for all dietary protein types; however only total and animal protein reached statistical significance (total: P=.05; animal: P=.05; plant: P=.14), according to study results.

When stratified by age, patients younger than 60 years showed no association between dietary protein and percent change in grip strength per year (P=.47) vs. older patients where total and animal protein intakes were protective against annual grip strength loss (P=0.05), Mangano said. In the highest quartile of total protein (97 grams per day), grip strength increased by approximately 0.37 kg per year.

“We can conclude from these results that similar protective patterns were observed across all types of dietary protein with change in grip strength,” Mangano said. – by Samantha Costa

For more information:

Mangano K. Oral Poster Presentations: Clinical #FR0012. Presented at: the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2013 Annual Meeting; Oct. 4-7, 2013; Baltimore.

Disclosure: Mangano reports no relevant financial disclosures.

Funding for this project was provided by the NIH's National Institute of Aging (T32-AG023480), NHLBI Framingham Heart Study (N01-HC-25195), Framingham Osteoporosis Study (NIH R01 AR041398), General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition and the Friends of Hebrew SeniorLife.