ReviewFrontiers in nutrition2019
The Impact of Step Reduction on Muscle Health in Aging: Protein and Exercise as Countermeasures.
Review in Frontiers in nutrition, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
73 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 138 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prognostic and Associative Significance of Malnutrition in Sarcopenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2025Pooled it
- Risk prediction models for sarcopenia in elderly people: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- The role of muscle disuse in muscular and cardiovascular fitness: A systematic review and meta-regression.European journal of sport science · 2024Pooled it
- Prevalence and clinical implications of abnormal body composition phenotypes in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Exercise-based rehabilitation on functionality and quality of life in head and neck cancer survivors. A systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the proportion of physically active children and adults worldwide: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- The Aging Muscle in Experimental Bed Rest: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Can The Frequency and Intensity of Tai Chi Influence the Magnitude of Adaptations in Health Markers and Physical Fitness in Older Adults? A Randomized Controlled Study.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2025Trial
- Two-week step-reduction has limited negative effects on physical function and metabolic health in older adults.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Trial
- Effects of transdermal estrogen therapy on satellite cell number and molecular markers for muscle hypertrophy in response to resistance training in early postmenopausal women.European journal of applied physiology · 2023Trial
- Effects of a 12-Week Web-Based Weight Loss Program for Adults With Overweight and Obesity on COVIDAge and Lifestyle-Related Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Frontiers in public health · 2022Trial
- Neuromuscular electrical stimulation and protein during bed rest increases CD11bApplied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme · 2020Trial
- Transcriptomic Profiling Reveals Early Molecular Adaptations to Resistance Exercise During Disuse Muscle Atrophy with Complementary Automated H&E-Based Muscle Morphometry.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Medial gastrocnemius activation during graded axial hypergravity induced by short-arm human centrifugation.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Prevalence of Sarcopenia in Patients with Hip Osteoarthritis Undergoing Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on EWGSOP2 Criteria.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Vitamin D as a Modulator of Sarcopenia in Women: Interactions with Dietary Patterns and Physical Exercise.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Dysfunction in Olfactory Identification and Physical Function Decline in Older Adults.JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2026Article
- Nutrition's role in extending healthspan: CRN-international symposium report.European journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Edentulism as an independent risk factor for sarcopenia: evidence from cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses based on the CHARLS cohort.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Optimizing Performance and Health: Nutrition Considerations for Female Athletes in Strength and Conditioning.Strength and conditioning journal · 2025Article
13 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
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Declines in strength and muscle function with age-sarcopenia-contribute to a variety of negative outcomes including an increased risk of: falls, fractures, hospitalization, and reduced mobility in older persons. Population-based estimates of the loss of muscle after age 60 show a loss of ~1% per year while strength loss is more rapid at ~3% per year. These rates are not, however, linear as periodic bouts of reduced physical activity and muscle disuse transiently accelerate loss of muscle and declines in muscle strength and power. Episodic complete muscle disuse can be due to sickness-related bed rest or local muscle disuse as a result of limb immobilization/surgery. Alternatively, relative muscle disuse occurs during inactivity due to illness and the associated convalescence resulting in marked reductions in daily steps, often referred to as step reduction (SR). While it is a "milder" form of disuse, it can have a similar adverse impact on skeletal muscle health. The physiological consequences of even short-term inactivity, modeled by SR, show losses in muscle mass and strength, as well as impaired insulin sensitivity and an increase in systemic inflammation. Though seemingly benign in comparison to bed rest, periodic inactivity likely occurs, we posit, more frequently with advancing age due to illness, declining mental health and declining mobility. Given that recovery from inactivity in older adults is slow or possibly incomplete we hypothesize that accumulated periods of inactivity contribute to sarcopenia. Periodic activity, even in small quantities, and protein supplementation may serve as effective strategies to offset the loss of muscle mass with aging, specifically during periods of inactivity. The aim of this review is to examine the recent literature encompassing SR, as a model of inactivity, and to explore the capacity of nutrition and exercise interventions to mitigate adverse physiological changes as a result of SR.
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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.