Research

Mixed

Skeletal muscle UCP3 mRNA levels decrease with age in healthy adults, inversely correlating with age (r = -0.411), independent of changes in resting energy expenditure.

As you age, your muscle's UCP3 gene expression tends to decline, even if your resting metabolic rate doesn't change proportionally. This decline might be linked to how your body handles oxidative stress rather than just energy burning. Maintaining muscle mass and oxidative capacity through regular exercise may help mitigate this age-related decline in UCP3 expression.

GoodSupportsMEDIUM confidence
UCP3 mRNA was correlated... inversely to age (r = -0.411, P = 0.046)... Interestingly, while the present study does suggest that UCP3 decreases with age, UCP3 mRNA was unrelated to REE.
Dean J. Calsbeek et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · 2002

Why this rating

Statistically significant correlation in a healthy, relatively young cohort.

Source

Metabolic and anthropometric factors related to skeletal muscle UCP3 gene expression in healthy human adults

Dean J. Calsbeek et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · 2002

DOI 10.1152/ajpendo.00449.2001

cross_sectional · n=24Cited 4×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →