Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2013 Nov 14:14:387.
doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-14-387.

Porvoo sarcopenia and nutrition trial: effects of protein supplementation on functional performance in home-dwelling sarcopenic older people - study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Mikko P Bjorkman  1 , Merja H Suominen, Kaisu H Pitkälä, Harriet U Finne-Soveri, Reijo S Tilvis
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Porvoo sarcopenia and nutrition trial: effects of protein supplementation on functional performance in home-dwelling sarcopenic older people - study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Mikko P Bjorkman et al. Trials. .

Abstract

Background: Age-related muscle loss (that is, sarcopenia) is a common health problem among older people. Physical exercise and dietary protein have been emphasized in prevention and treatment of sarcopenia. Rigorous trials investigating the effects of protein supplementation on physical performance in sarcopenic populations are still scarce. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of protein supplementation along with simple home-based exercises on physical performance among home-dwelling sarcopenic older people.

Methods/design: During 2012 the entire 75 and older population (N = 3,275) living in Porvoo, Finland was contacted via a postal questionnaire. Persons at risk of sarcopenia are screened with hand grip strength and gait speed. Poorly performing persons are further examined by segmental bioimpendance spectroscopy to determine their skeletal muscle index. Sarcopenic patients (target N = 250) will be enrolled in a 12-month randomized controlled trial with three arms: 1) no supplementation, 2) protein supplementation (20 grams twice a day), and 3) isocaloric placebo. All the participants will receive instructions on simple home-based exercises, dietary protein, and vitamin D supplementation (20 μg/d). The recruitment of patients will be completed during 2013. The primary endpoint of the trial is the change in short physical performance battery score and percentage of patients maintaining or improving their physical performance. Secondary endpoints will be, among other things, changes in muscle functions, nutritional status, body composition, cognition, quality of life, use of health care services, falls, and mortality. The assessment times will be 0, 6, 12 and 24 months.

Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first large scale randomized controlled trial among community dwelling older people with sarcopenia that focuses on the effects of protein supplementation on physical performance.

Trial registration: ACTRN12612001253897, date of registration 28 October 2012, first patient was randomized 11 April 2012.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart[34].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Baeyens JP, Bauer JM, Boirie Y, Cederholm T, Landi F, Martin FC, Michel JP, Rolland Y, Schneider SM, Topinková E, Vandewoude M, Zamboni M. European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People: Sarcopenia: European consensus on definition and diagnosis: Report of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Age Ageing. 2010;39:412–423. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afq034. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rolland Y, Czerwinski S, Abellan Van Kan G, Morley JE, Cesari M, Onder G, Woo J, Baumgartner R, Pillard F, Boirie Y, Chumlea WM, Vellas B. Sarcopenia: its assessment, etiology, pathogenesis, consequences and future perspectives. J Nutr Health Aging. 2008;12:433–450. doi: 10.1007/BF02982704. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Evans CJ, Chiou CF, Fitzgerald KA, Evans WJ, Ferrell BR, Dale W, Fried LP, Gandra SR, Dennee-Sommers B, Patrick DL. Development of a new patient-reported outcome measure in sarcopenia. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2011;12:226–233. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2010.09.010. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fried LP, Tangen CM, Walston J, Newman AB, Hirsch C, Gottdiener J, Seeman T, Tracy R, Kop WJ, Burke G, McBurnie MA. Cardiovascular Health Study Collaborative Research Group: Frailty in older adults: evidence for a phenotype. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2001;56:M146–M156. doi: 10.1093/gerona/56.3.M146. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ling CH, de Craen AJ, Slagboom PE, Gunn DA, Stokkel MP, Westendorp RG, Maier AB. Accuracy of direct segmental multi-frequency bioimpedance analysis in the assessment of total body and segmental body composition in middle-aged adult population. Clin Nutr. 2011;30:610–615. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2011.04.001. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms