SynthesisThe journal of nutrition, health & aging2017
The Impact of Dietary Protein or Amino Acid Supplementation on Muscle Mass and Strength in Elderly People: Individual Participant Data and Meta-Analysis of RCT's.
Synthesis in The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 123 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of supplemental protein in older people: an overview of meta-analyses.Age and ageing · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of Sustainably Sourced Protein Consumption on Nutrient Intake and Gut Health in Older Adults: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Health Effects of Increasing Protein Intake Above the Current Population Reference Intake in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of the Health Council of the Netherlands.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Pooled it
- A multicomponent intervention consisting of exercise, proteins and omega-3 supplementation to improve sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults: Lessons learned from a 5-armed randomized controlled feasibility trial.The Journal of frailty & aging · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Interindividual variability in response to protein and fish oil supplementation in older adults: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2022Trial
- The cost effectiveness of personalized dietary advice to increase protein intake in older adults with lower habitual protein intake: a randomized controlled trial.European journal of nutrition · 2022Trial
- The additive effects of exercise and essential amino acid on muscle mass and strength in community-dwelling older Japanese women with muscle mass decline, but not weakness and slowness: a randomized controlled and placebo trial.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2021Trial
- Does supplementation with leucine-enriched protein alone and in combination with fish-oil-derived n-3 PUFA affect muscle mass, strength, physical performance, and muscle protein synthesis in well-nourished older adults? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Effects of exercise and whey protein on muscle mass, fat mass, myoelectrical muscle fatigue and health-related quality of life in older adults: a secondary analysis of the Liverpool Hope University-Sarcopenia Ageing Trial (LHU-SAT).European journal of applied physiology · 2020Trial
- Effect of Aerobic Exercise Training and Essential Amino Acid Supplementation for 24 Weeks on Physical Function, Body Composition, and Muscle Metabolism in Healthy, Independent Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2019Trial
- Dietary protein intake is not associated with 5-y change in mid-thigh muscle cross-sectional area by computed tomography in older adults: the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2019Trial
- Chinese Expert Consensus on Home Nutrition Administration for Older Patients (2024).Journal of evidence-based medicine · 2025Article
- Development of a frailty prevention program including nutrition and exercise interventions for older adults in senior daycare centers in South Korea using a mixed methods research design.Nutrition research and practice · 2024Article
- Combined Nutrition with Exercise: Fueling the Fight Against Sarcopenia Through a Bibliometric Analysis and Review.International journal of general medicine · 2024Review
- In elderly individuals, the effectiveness of sensorimotor training on postural control and muscular strength is comparable to resistance-endurance training.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Is there a beneficial effect of a high-protein diet on body composition and strength capacity in physical active middle-aged individuals?-An eight-week randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2024Article
- Can Nutrition Contribute to a Reduction in Sarcopenia, Frailty, and Comorbidities in a Super-Aged Society?Nutrients · 2023Review
- Validation of the German version of the Protein Screener 55.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2023Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesIncreasing protein or amino acid intake has been promoted as a promising strategy to increase muscle mass and strength in elderly people, however, long-term intervention studies show inconsistent findings. Therefore, we aim to determine the impact of protein or amino acid supplementation compared to placebo on muscle mass and strength in older adults by combining the results from published trials in a meta-analysis and pooled individual participant data analysis.
designWe searched Medline and Cochrane databases and performed a meta-analysis on eight available trials on the effect of protein or amino acid supplementation on muscle mass and strength in older adults. Furthermore, we pooled individual data of six of these randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials. The main outcomes were change in lean body mass and change in muscle strength for both the meta-analysis and the pooled analysis.
resultsThe meta-analysis of eight studies (n=557) showed no significant positive effects of protein or amino acid supplementation on lean body mass (mean difference: 0.014 kg: 95% CI -0.152; 0.18), leg press strength (mean difference: 2.26 kg: 95% CI -0.56; 5.08), leg extension strength (mean difference: 0.75 kg: 95% CI: -1.96, 3.47) or handgrip strength (mean difference: -0.002 kg: 95% CI -0.182; 0.179). Likewise, the pooled analysis showed no significant difference between protein and placebo treatment on lean body mass (n=412: p=0.78), leg press strength (n=121: p=0.50), leg extension strength (n=121: p=0.16) and handgrip strength (n=318: p=0.37).
conclusionsThere is currently no evidence to suggest that protein or amino acid supplementation without concomitant nutritional or exercise interventions increases muscle mass or strength in predominantly healthy elderly people.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.