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
. 2025 Feb 19;17(4):734.
doi: 10.3390/nu17040734.

Age Difference in the Association Between Nutritional Status and Dynapenia in Older Adults

Chih-Ching Chang  1 , Ting-Fu Lai  2   3 , Jiaren Chen  2 , Yung Liao  2 , Jong-Hwan Park  3   4   5 , Yen-Jung Chang  1
Affiliations

Age Difference in the Association Between Nutritional Status and Dynapenia in Older Adults

Chih-Ching Chang et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background: Although nutritional status plays a critical role in maintaining muscle strength, limited evidence exists regarding its association with dynapenia.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the association between different nutritional statuses and dynapenia among Taiwanese older adults, and assessed whether age modifies this relationship.

Methods: In this study, we enrolled individuals aged 65 years and older living in community settings through convenience sampling from 2020 to 2021, following a cross-sectional design. The Mini-Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF) was used to assess whether the participants were at nutritional risk. Standardized assessments measured muscle strength (handgrip measurement), physical performance (6 m walking test), and muscle mass (bioelectrical impedance analysis) to confirm dynapenia classifications. The interaction terms were tested using likelihood ratio tests to examine for dynapenia between nutritional status and age. For overall sample and subgroup analyses, binary logistic regression was employed.

Results: Among 211 participants (mean age: 80.7 ± 7.1 years), after adjusting for potential confounders, those at nutritional risk (OR: 3.11; 95% CI: 1.31-7.36) were positively associated with dynapenia, whereas higher MNA-SF scores (OR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.57-0.93) were negatively associated. Interactions regarding dynapenia were observed between nutritional status and age group (p = 0.014), with nutritional risk significantly associated with dynapenia only in the old-old group (≥75 years) (OR = 4.11, 95% CI: 1.39-12.15).

Conclusions: Age is a potential moderator of nutritional status and dynapenia among older populations. Nutritional status appeared to be more profound in the old-old group in terms of the risk of dynapenia. These findings offer insights for monitoring nutritional status and implementing targeted interventions to prevent dynapenia in those aged over 75 years. Future studies using prospective designs should explore the underlying mechanisms linking nutritional status to dynapenia and assess the effectiveness of nutritional interventions in preventing muscle strength decline.

Keywords: aging; handgrip strength; malnutrition; physical function; sarcopenia; undernutrition.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study process flowchart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of nutritional status among total participant, non-dynapenia, and dynapenia groups.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Adjusted odds ratios for association between nutritional status, MNA-SF scores, and dynapenia.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Adjusted odds ratios for association between nutritional status at risk and dynapenia across age groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. DESA/Population Division . World Population Prospects 2024: Summary of Results. 9th ed. United Nations; New York, NY, USA: 2024.
    1. GBD 2019 Ageing Collaborators Global, regional, and national burden of diseases and injuries for adults 70 years and older: Systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study. BMJ. 2022;376:e068208. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2021-068208. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Manini T.M., Clark B.C. Dynapenia and aging: An update. J. Gerontol. Ser. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 2012;67:28–40. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glr010. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Seene T., Kaasik P. Muscle weakness in the elderly: Role of sarcopenia, dynapenia, and possibilities for rehabilitation. Eur. Rev. Aging Phys. Act. 2012;9:109–117. doi: 10.1007/s11556-012-0102-8. - DOI
    1. Mitchell W.K., Williams J., Atherton P., Larvin M., Lund J., Narici M. Sarcopenia, dynapenia, and the impact of advancing age on human skeletal muscle size and strength; a quantitative review. Front. Physiol. 2012;3:260. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2012.00260. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources