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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Sport and Exercise Nutrition
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1503702
This article is part of the Research Topic Preventative Medicine: Nutritional and Lifestyle Interventions for Healthy Ageing and Chronic Diseases View all 26 articles

Inflammation mediates the association between muscle mass and accelerated phenotypic aging: results from the NHANES 2011-2018

Provisionally accepted
Shifu Bao Shifu Bao 1Weibu Jimu Weibu Jimu 1*Nai Mu Nai Mu 2*Fang Yan Fang Yan 3*Shuxing Xing Shuxing Xing 2*Tao Li Tao Li 4Zheng Zhou Zheng Zhou 2*
  • 1 Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
  • 2 Department of Orthopaedics, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 3 Department of Geriatrics, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 4 West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Muscle mass plays a pivotal role in health maintenance, yet its connection to biological aging remains underexplored. This study investigates the association between appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) and phenotypic age(PhenoAge), while examining the mediating role of systemic inflammation.The analysis included 7440 participants from the NHANES 2011-2018. Phenotypic Age Acceleration (PhenoAgeAccel) was calculated as the residuals from regressing PhenoAge on chronological age. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to assess the association between ASMI and PhenoAgeAccel. Mediation analysis was conducted to quantify the extent to which systemic inflammation contributes to this association.Results: Our analysis revealed that higher ASMI is linked to slower biological aging, as evidenced by lower PhenoAgeAccel(β=-0.48, 95% CI: -0.66 to -0.29, p=0.0001). Systemic inflammation partially mediated this effect, with a mediation proportion of 35.1%. The association varied notably across demographic and health-related subgroups, being particularly significant in females, individuals with obesity, and those with lower physical activity.Conclusions: These findings highlight the critical importance of muscle mass in slowing biological aging, with systemic inflammation emerging as a key biological mediator. The public health implications are substantial, suggesting that targeted interventions-such as resistance training, antiinflammatory diets, and personalized medical approaches-could play a pivotal role in decelerating biological aging and improving long-term health outcomes.

    Keywords: PhenoAge, skeletal muscle, Aging, SII, NHANES, Cross-sectional study

    Received: 29 Sep 2024; Accepted: 06 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Bao, Jimu, Mu, Yan, Xing, Li and Zhou. 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:
    Weibu Jimu, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
    Nai Mu, Department of Orthopaedics, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
    Fang Yan, Department of Geriatrics, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
    Shuxing Xing, Department of Orthopaedics, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
    Zheng Zhou, Department of Orthopaedics, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.