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Life sciences · Journal article
The Journal of Nutrition Health & Aging · September 11, 2026
Well-designed and adequately powered for the question it asks.
This prospective cohort study in 2,994 Chinese older adults demonstrates divergent serum amino acid profiles between sarcopenia-only and sarcopenic obesity phenotypes, with branched-chain and aromatic amino acids inversely associated with sarcopenia-only but positively associated with sarcopenic obesity across baseline, 4-year, and 14-year assessments. The consistency of associations across time points and the distinct dietary correlates observed support amino acid profiling as a potential tool for phenotype-specific metabolic assessment, but prospective results remained limited to short-term (4-year) incident cases and call for caution against undifferentiated amino acid supplementation.
Prospective cohort study. Community-dwelling Chinese older adults; eligibility criteria not specified in the source text.. Intervention: Serum branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs: valine, isoleucine, leucine) and aromatic amino acids (AAAs: phenylalanine, tyrosine) quantified at baseline.. Compared with: Logistic regression with sarcopenia-only or sarcopenic obesity versus non-sarcopenic non-obese reference category (implied).. n = 2,994. Not specified in the source text..
Cross-sectionally at baseline, each 1-SD increment in BCAAs and AAAs was associated with lower sarcopenia-only risk (all ORs < 1, P < 0.05), whereas valine (OR = 1.195, P = 0.032) and isoleucine (OR = 1.221, P = 0.016) were associated with increased sarcopenic obesity risk. At 14-year cross-sectional analysis, BCAAs showed positive association with sarcopenic obesity (ORs: 1.604–1.668, all P < 0.01). Over 4 years prospectively, higher baseline BCAAs and tyrosine were associated with lower sarcopenia-only risk (all ORs < 1, P < 0.05), while higher isoleucine and phenylalanine emerged as short-term risk factors for incident sarcopenic obesity (ORs: 1.233–1.331, P < 0.05).
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Clinicians should recognize that serum amino acid profiles differ between sarcopenia-only and sarcopenic obesity phenotypes and that undifferentiated amino acid supplementation is not supported; phenotype-specific nutritional strategies and dietary patterns (fiber, vegetable intake, inflammatory markers) warrant investigation as part of management. These findings suggest that amino acid profiling may help stratify risk and tailor intervention.
Well-designed prospective cohort study with 2994 participants, multiple time points (baseline, 4-year, 14-year), multivariable analysis, and consistent directional associations across cross-sectional and prospective phases, establishing amino acid profiles as potential metabolic markers for sarcopenia phenotypes.
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Quoted from the source exactly as published.
Clinicians should recognize that serum amino acid profiles differ between sarcopenia-only and sarcopenic obesity phenotypes and that undifferentiated amino acid supplementation is not supported; phenotype-specific nutritional strategies and dietary patterns (fiber, vegetable intake, inflammatory markers) warrant investigation as part of management. These findings suggest that amino acid profiling may help stratify risk and tailor intervention.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
BACKGROUND: The roles of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and aromatic amino acids (AAAs) in sarcopenia remain conflicting, largely due to the overlooked impact of obesity. Whether these AAs differentially associate with sarcopenia without obesity (sarcopenia-only) versus sarcopenic obesity (SO) is unknown. This study evaluated their cross-sectional and prospective associations and explored dietary determinants. METHODS: This prospective study included 2994 community-dwelling Chinese older adults. Serum BCAAs and AAAs were quantified at baseline. Multivariable multinomial logistic regression examined cross-sectional (baseline and 14-year) and exploratory prospective (4-year and 14-year) associations with incident sarcopenia-only and SO. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. RESULTS: Cross-sectionally, each 1‑SD increment in BCAAs and AAAs was associated with lower sarcopenia-only risk (all ORs < 1, P < 0.05), whereas higher valine (OR = 1.195, P = 0.032) and isoleucine (OR = 1.221, P = 0.016) were associated with increased SO risk. The 14‑year cross‑sectional analysis confirmed the positive association between BCAAs and SO (ORs: 1.604-1.668, all P < 0.01). Prospectively over 4 years, higher baseline BCAAs and tyrosine were associated with lower sarcopenia-only risk (all ORs < 1, P < 0.05). Conversely, higher baseline isoleucine and phenylalanine emerged as short-term risk factors for incident SO (ORs: 1.233-1.331, P < 0.05). Exploratory 14‑year analyses showed directionally consistent associations, with valine inversely associated with sarcopenia‑only (OR = 0.628, P = 0.024) and BCAAs positively associated with SO (ORs: 1.555-1.693, P < 0.01). Dietary patterns differed, with sarcopenia-only showing lower fiber/vegetable intake but higher red/processed meat consumption (all P < 0.05), whereas SO showed elevated hs‑CRP (P < 0.05) and tended to have a higher dietary inflammatory index. CONCLUSIONS: In community‑dwelling older adults, serum BCAAs and AAAs were inversely associated with sarcopenia-only but positively associated with SO. The consistency of these associations across time points supports their utility as potential concurrent metabolic markers for phenotype differentiation. These distinct profiles, alongside dietary correlates, caution against uniform AA supplementation and suggest phenotype-specific nutritional strategies in older adults.
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