SynthesisEuropean geriatric medicine2021
Effects of oral administration of β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate on lean body mass in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in European geriatric medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 4 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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Ergogenic Benefits of β-Hydroxy-β-Methyl Butyrate (HMB) Supplementation on Body Composition and Muscle Strength: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of exercise with or withoutFrontiers in nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- An umbrella review of systematic reviews of β-hydroxy-β-methyl butyrate supplementation in ageing and clinical practice.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- International society of sports nutrition position stand: β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB).Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Review
- Dietary supplement considerations during glucagon-like Peptide-1 receptor agonist treatment: A narrative review.Obesity pillars · 2025Review
- Association between endogenous plasma beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate levels and frailty in community-dwelling older people.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024Article
- Review
- Article
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
objectiveBeta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate (HMB), a metabolite of leucine, is currently widely used in athletes to increase muscle mass and strength and has also been used as a nutritional supplement in recent years to maintain muscle mass in muscular atrophic diseases of older people. However, the effects of HMB supplementation on muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical function in older people remain controversial. The purpose of this review was to explore the effects of HMB on body composition in older adults.
methodsThe PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were searched to obtain the randomized controlled trials needed as a basis for systematic review and meta-analysis.
resultA total of 9 studies (448 participants) were eventually found eligible. The pooled results showed that HMB supplementation significantly increased fat-free mass in older people compared with the control group (effect size: 0.37; 95% Cl 0.16, 0.58; Z value = 3.47, P = 0.001; Fixed-effect model). But it had no effect on fat mass (effect size: - 0.04 95% CI - 0.26, 0.18; Z value = 0.36, P = 0.716, fixed-effect model). Subgroup analysis of HMB supplementation alone showed a significant improvement in fat-free mass in older people (effect size: 0.59; 95% CI 0.32, 0.87; Z = 4.24, P < 0.001; fixed-effect model), whereas HMB supplementation combined with exercise intervention showed no additional fat-free mass change (effect size: 0.06; 95% CI - 0.26, 0.38; Z = 0.38, P = 0.705; Fixed-effect model).
conclusionHMB supplementation is beneficial for improving body composition in older people. However, the effect of HMB supplementation combined with exercise therapy to improve muscle mass is not obvious. Exercise programs need to be designed according to the different physical health of older people.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.