ArticleJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2021
Changes in systemic GDF15 across the adult lifespan and their impact on maximal muscle power: the Copenhagen Sarcopenia Study.
Article in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
45 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Circulating biomarkers in older adults with and without sarcopenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of Acute Nutritional Ketosis on Circulating Levels of Growth Differentiation Factor 15: Findings from a Cross-Over Randomised Controlled Trial.Biomolecules · 2024Trial
- Associations of Change in Body Size With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Among Healthy Older Adults.JAMA network open · 2023Trial
- Validation and refinement of a biomarker panel for frailty assessment and prediction of muscle weakness in older adults.npj aging · 2026Article
- Association of plasma growth differentiation factor-15 with the frailty phenotype - Evidence from the COGFRAIL study.The Journal of frailty & aging · 2026Article
- Mitochondrial quality control in human ageing and longevity.Nature metabolism · 2026Review
- Baseline Plasma Growth-differentiation Factor 15 and Recovery of Physical Function Following Total Knee Replacement in the Study of Physical Resilience and Aging.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026Article
- High prevalence of sarcopenia, osteoporosis and osteosarcopenia in patients with chronic kidney disease compared with healthy controls.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2026Article
- Investigating the role of serum NfL, FGF21, NCAM1 and GDF15 as disease biomarkers for Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2A.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- GDF-15 plasma levels are elevated in mobility-limited older adults with frailty and sarcopenia-results from the BIOFRAIL study.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Article
- Growth differentiation factor 15 predicts physical function impairment in Spanish older adults: a real-world prospective study.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Growth Differentiation Factor 15 and Physical Function Impairment in the SardiNIA Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- A loss-of-function variant in GFRAL associates with increased alcohol consumption in humans.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Associations Between Growth Differentiating Factor-15 and Frailty in Older Adults From the MAPT Study.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Article
- Preoperative visceral fat and muscle loss after cardiovascular surgery: A retrospective cohort study.JPEN. Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition · 2026Article
- Sarcopenia and Muscle Aging: Updated Insights into Molecular Mechanisms and Translational Therapeutics.Endocrinology and metabolism (Seoul, Korea) · 2026Review
- GDF15 as a sentinel of metabolic integrity: a narrative review of stress signaling, multisystem pathophysiology, and therapeutic potential.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- Musculoskeletal biomarkers in health and disease: implications for the aging spine-a review for spinal surgeons by the SRS adult spinal deformity task force on senescence.Spine deformity · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is known to increase with disease and is associated with low physical performance, the role of GDF15 in normal ageing is still not fully understood. Specifically, the influence of circulating GDF15 on impairments in maximal muscle power (a major contributor to functional limitations) and the underlying components has not been investigated.
methodsData from 1305 healthy women and men aged 20 to 93 years from The Copenhagen Sarcopenia Study were analysed. Circulating levels of GDF15 and markers of inflammation (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) were measured by ELISA (R&D Systems) and multiplex bead-based immunoassays (Bio-Rad). Relative (normalized to body mass), allometric (normalized to height squared), and specific (normalized to leg muscle mass) muscle power were assessed by the Nottingham power rig [leg extension power (LEP)] and the 30 s sit-to-stand (STS) muscle power test. Total body fat, visceral fat, and leg lean mass were assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Leg skeletal muscle index was measured as leg lean mass normalized to body height squared.
resultsSystemic levels of GDF15 increased progressively as a function of age in women (1.1 ± 0.4 pg·mL
conclusionsA J-shaped relationship between age and systemic GDF15 was observed, with men at older age showing steeper increases and elevated GDF15 levels compared with women. Importantly, circulating GDF15 was independently and negatively associated with relative STS power, supporting the potential role of GDF15 as a sensitive biomarker of frailty in older people.
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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.