Page 219 - Petelin, Ana. 2021. Ed. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
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kert et al., 2018; Beaudart et al., 2019). Many of them are not modifiable association between dietary nutrient intake and sarcopenia in older adults 217
since they are caused by progressive, irreversible processes contributing to re-
duced muscle mass and strength (Rolland et al., 2008; Cruz-Jentoft nad Sayer
2019). Therefore, there is rising interest in studies that point to the influence of
modifiable factors such as nutrition and lifestyle, because these factors may be
effective for both the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia. Proper nutrition
is an important determinant of health and can contribute to protection against
the negative impact of age-related changes of body composition and muscle
quality decline (Volkert et al., 2018; Beaudart et al., 2019). Evidences shows sig-
nificantly lower dietary nutrient intakes of at least 3-6 nutrients in sarcopen-
ic comparing to non-sarcopenic older adults (ter Borg et al., 2016; Beaudart et
al., 2019). Results of some studies have led to the proposition that n-3 fatty acid
along with vitamin D, protein intake and physical activity as a combined inter-
vention could be effective in the management of sarcopenia (Boirie et al., 2014;
Wu et al., 2020). Antioxidant nutrients (carotenoids, selenium and vitamins E
and C) intake have also been associated with sarcopenia (Lauretani et al., 2007;
Chen et al., 2014; Welch et al., 2020).

Studies that evaluate the association between nutrient intake and sarco-
penia in older adults is limited. To fill this gap, this study aims to evaluate
the differences in nutrition intake among sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic old-
er adults.

Methods
Study design and participants
This case-control observational study is set to identify nutritional factors that
differ in sarcopenic and nonsarcopenic groups of older adults.
Study participants were older adults (≥ 65 years) selected from our previ-
ous study (Urzi et al., 2017). The sample was composed of 115 participants, 26 of
whom had sarcopenia; 75 older adults living in a nursing home and 40 free-liv-
ing older adults (29% of men; average age 77.7 ± 10.3 years). Sarcopenia was as-
sessed according to the EWGSOP diagnostic criteria (Cruz-Jentoft et al., 2010).
For details on health-related data, body composition measurements and sarco-
penia assessment see our original publication (Urzi et al., 2017). We conducted
our study in compliance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The
study was approved by the Republic of Slovenia National Medical Ethics Com-
mittee (No. 0120-313/2015-6 KME 105/06/16).

Dietary Intake and Malnutrition Assessment
Habitual dietary intake was assessed with the 3-day weighed dietary record
over two weekdays and on one weekend day. The weight of food intake in
grams was converted into energy, macronutrient and micronutrient amounts
using the online OPEN (Open Platform for Clinical Nutrition dietary assess-
ment tool (http://www.opkp.si)).
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