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Effects of Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methylbutyrate Supplementation on Older Adults with Sarcopenia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

  • Original Research
  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objectives

Sarcopenia is recognized as a major public health concern because of its association with several adverse health events. Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation reportedly delays the loss of muscle mass and function; however, the effect of HMB on sarcopenia remains inconclusive. We aimed to evaluate the impact of HMB intervention on muscle strength, physical performance, body compositions, and inflammatory factors in older adults with sarcopenia.

Design

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Setting and Participants

This study included subjects aged ≥60 years with sarcopenia which were assigned to the HMB group (HMBG, n=18) and the placebo group (PG, n=16).

Intervention

The HMBG and PG were supplied with HMB and placebo products twice daily for 12 weeks, and both received resistance exercise training twice a week in 12 weeks.

Measurements

Hand grip strength was selected as the primary outcome; gait speed, five-time chair stand test, body composition and inflammatory indicators were selected as the secondary outcomes. The differences in changes from baseline between the two groups were analyzed using the analysis of covariance(ANCOVA).

Results

After the 12-week intervention, the HMBG demonstrated significantly greater improvements in handgrip strength (4.61(95%CI:2.93,6.28) kg, P<0.001), gait speed (0.11(95%CI:0.02,0.20)m/s, P=0.014), five-time chair stand test (−3.65 (95%CI:−5.72, −1.58)s, P=0.001), muscle quality (2.47(95%CI:1.15,3.80),kg·kg−1 P=0.001) and tumor necrosis factorlike weak inducer of apoptosis (−15.23(95%CI:−29.80,−0.66)pmol/mL, P=0.041) compared with the PG; no significant differences in skeletal muscle mass, skeletal muscle index, and other body composition parameters were found between the two groups.

Conclusion

In older adults with sarcopenia, HMB significantly enhance the effect of resistance exercise training on muscle strength, physical performance, muscle quality, and reduced inflammatory factors. Therefore, HMB supplementation could be an effective treatment for sarcorpenia. The trial protocol was registered at http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=47571 as ChiCTR2000028778.

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Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy and ethical.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the community workers who participated in this study, and Editage (www.editage.cn) for English language editing.

Funding

This work was supported by the Danone Dietary Nutrition Research and Education Fund [grant number DIC2019-10]. The supporting source had no involvement or restrictions regarding publication.

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Author notes

  1. Chan Yang and Yu Song contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, China

    C. Yang, Y. Song, T. Li, X. Chen, J. Zhou & Hong Jia

  2. Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, China

    Hong Jia

  3. West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    Q. Pan

  4. Department of Rehabilitation, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, China

    W. Jiang

  5. Department of Nutrition, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, China

    M. Wang

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Contributions

Chan Yang and Yu Song performed the statistical analysis, drafted the manuscript. Tingting Li conceived the idea, designed and conducted the trial, managed the project and subjects. Hong Jia supervised the study and review the manuscript. Xinyu Chen and Junliang Zhou performed the investigation, intervention and data collection. Qing Pan: performed the statistical analysis; Wei Jiang and Min Wang: instructed the intervention. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hong Jia.

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The research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Yang, C., Song, Y., Li, T. et al. Effects of Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methylbutyrate Supplementation on Older Adults with Sarcopenia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. J Nutr Health Aging 27, 329–339 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-023-1911-1

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