title: Measurements of skeletal muscle mass and power are positively related to a Mediterranean dietary pattern in women.
abstract: The age-related loss of skeletal muscle and function are risk factors for osteoporosis and fractures. We found that higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet score was significantly associated with greater fat-free mass and leg explosive power suggesting a role for the Mediterranean Diet in prevention of loss of muscle outcomes.
  
  
  
  The loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function with age are contributing risk factors for the onset of sarcopenia, frailty, osteoporosis, fractures, and mortality. Nutrition may affect the progression and trajectory of these changes in skeletal muscle but the role of the micronutrient-rich Mediterranean diet (MD) has hardly been investigated in relation to these muscle outcomes.
  
  
  
  We examined associations between the MD score (MDS) and FFM% (fat-free mass / weight × 100), FFMI (fat-free mass/height2), hand grip strength, and leg explosive power (LEP, watts/kg) in a cross-sectional study in 2570 women aged 18-79 years from the TwinsUK study. Measurements of body composition were made using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and dietary intake assessed by a food frequency questionnaire. FFM%, FFMI, grip strength, and LEP were compared across quartiles of the MDS after adjustment for covariates, with CRP measured in a subgroup (n = 1658).
  
  
  
  Higher adherence to the MDS was positively associated with measurements of muscle outcomes, with significant differences of 1.7 % for FFM% and 9.6 % for LEP (P trend <0.001), comparing extreme quartiles of intake, but not with grip strength or CRP concentrations.
  
  
  
  For the first time in a northern European population, we have observed significant positive associations between the MDS and FFM% and LEP in healthy women that are potentially clinically relevant, independent of the factors known to influence muscle outcomes. Our findings emphasize the potential role for overall diet quality based on the MD in the prevention of age-related loss of skeletal muscle outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kelaiditi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.affiliation: Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, SE1 7EH, UK.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Steves
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Skinner
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cassidy
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: MacGregor
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK. a.welch@uea.ac.uk.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Welch
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001823:Body Composition; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D008875:Middle Aged; D053580:Muscle Strength; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D055948:Sarcopenia; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: C-reactive protein; Fat-free mass; Mediterranean diet; Skeletal muscle mass; Skeletal muscle power