Mixed
Low muscle strength (dynapenia) is independently and significantly associated with increased all-cause mortality in older adults, whereas low muscle mass (sarcopenia) alone is not significantly associated with mortality unless accompanied by low muscle strength.
For adults over 50, prioritize building and maintaining muscle strength (e.g., through resistance training) over simply focusing on muscle size or weight. Low strength is a strong independent predictor of early death, whereas having low muscle mass is not a significant risk factor if your strength remains normal. Measure your functional capacity, not just your body composition.
Low muscle strength was independently associated with elevated risk of all-cause mortality, regardless of muscle mass, metabolic syndrome, sedentary time, or LTPA among US older adults... low muscle mass was not significantly associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality... unless low muscle mass adjusted by BMI... The combination of low muscle mass with normal muscle strength was not significantly associated with all-cause mortality
Why this rating
Large, nationally representative prospective cohort (NHANES) with objective measures, though using logistic regression for mortality rather than time-to-event analysis.
Source
Associations of Muscle Mass and Strength with All-Cause Mortality among US Older Adults
Ran Li et al. · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · 2017
DOI 10.1249/mss.0000000000001448
Related findings · Mixed
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