Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32150215›Full record

Trial reportThe Journal of frailty & aging2020

Circulating Interleukin-6 Is Associated with Skeletal Muscle Strength, Quality, and Functional Adaptation with Exercise Training in Mobility-Limited Older Adults.

G J Grosicki, B B Barrett, D A Englund, C Liu, T G Travison, T Cederholm, A Koochek, Å von Berens, T Gustafsson, T Benard and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in The Journal of frailty & aging, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.6field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

44 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  16. Serum alkaline phosphatase elevation as a preoperative sarcopenic biomarker in digestive cancer: a retrospective cohort study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
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  20. Exerkines and myokines in aging sarcopenia.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

G J GrosickiGregory J. Grosicki, Ph.D., Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology, Biodynamics and Human Performance Center, Georgia Southern University (Armstrong Campus), 11935 Abercorn Street, Savannah, GA, 31419. Phone: (912) 344-3317. Fax: (912) 344-3490. Email: ggrosicki@georgiasouthern.edu.
B B Barrett
D A Englund
C Liu
T G Travison
T Cederholm
A Koochek
Å von Berens
T Gustafsson
T Benard
K F Reid
R A Fielding
Tufts University · USUppsala University · SEHarvard University · USKarolinska Institutet · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHuman aging is characterized by a chronic, low-grade inflammation suspected to contribute to reductions in skeletal muscle size, strength, and function. Inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), may play a role in the reduced skeletal muscle adaptive response seen in older individuals.

objectivesTo investigate relationships between circulating IL-6, skeletal muscle health and exercise adaptation in mobility-limited older adults.

designRandomized controlled trial.

settingExercise laboratory on the Health Sciences campus of an urban university.

participants99 mobility-limited (Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) ≤9) older adults.

intervention6-month structured physical activity with or without a protein and vitamin D nutritional supplement. MEASUREMENTS: Circulating IL-6, skeletal muscle size, composition (percent normal density muscle tissue), strength, power, and specific force (strength/CSA) as well as physical function (gait speed, stair climb time, SPPB-score) were measured pre- and post-intervention.

resultsAt baseline, Spearman's correlations demonstrated an inverse relationship (P<0.05) between circulating IL-6 and thigh muscle composition (r = -0.201), strength (r = -0.311), power (r = -0.210), and specific force (r = -0.248), and positive association between IL-6 and stair climb time (r = 0.256; P<0.05). Although the training program did not affect circulating IL-6 levels (P=0.69), reductions in IL-6 were associated with gait speed improvements (r = -0.487; P<0.05) in "higher" IL-6 individuals (>1.36 pg/ml). Moreover, baseline IL-6 was inversely associated (P<0.05) with gains in appendicular lean mass and improvements in SPPB score (r = -0.211 and -0.237, respectively).

conclusionsThese findings implicate age-related increases in circulating IL-6 as an important contributor to declines in skeletal muscle strength, quality, function, and training-mediated adaptation. Given the pervasive nature of inflammation among older adults, novel therapeutic strategies to reduce IL-6 as a means of preserving skeletal muscle health are enticing.

Indexed as

AgedExerciseHumansInterleukin-6Mobility LimitationMuscle, SkeletalMuscle StrengthInterleukin-6agingIL-6Inflammationolder adultssarcopenia

Identifiers

PMID32150215
PMCPMC12275783
OpenAlexW2974615636

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.