Lower Plasma Antioxidant-Vitamins and GSH Are Markers of Lower Skeletal Muscle in Community Free-Living Adults

OBJECTIVES: Lower muscle mass(sarcopenia) is a contemporary syndrome related to dietary-inadequacy and sedentary lifestyles that might have pro/anti-oxidant balance as major determinant. OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of dietary-associated oxidative stress in the low-muscle mass of free-living adults. METHODS: A baseline data of 1,218 subjects, both genders, 55(35–85) years old, ethical and clinically selected of an ongoing epidemiological study(Move for Health) from 2005 to 2019, met the inclusion criteria. Their data included medical, anthropometric, food intake, plasma biochemistry profile including general chemistry, inflammatory and pro/antioxidant markers. Muscle-Mass Index(MMI), as primary variable, was analyzed against the co-variables. MMI values were defined either as literature's sarcopenia or decile (hypotrophy = P10 MMI) for categorized comparisons with co-variables. Statistical analysis were made for p = 0.05. RESULTS: The whole sample was predominantly female(79%), over 60yrs old(51.2%), 82.7% overweight(48.9% obese).The P10 MMI followed the general characteristics of the sample, except by been mostly males. Our P10 MMI underestimated literature's sarcopenia by 1.2% in women and 12.1% in men. P10 MMI presented low intakes of protein(in females) and lower fiber(in men) along with higher plasma pro-oxidant(MDA and GSSG) and lower antioxidant markers(vitamins, uric acid and GSH). However, after adjustments, only lower plasma GSH persisted as (aging-dependent) risk factor for muscle hypotrophy. CONCLUSIONS: Major discrimination of P10 MMI was found by male gender, associated with lower dietary antioxidant sources leading to a pattern of plasma higher prooxidant/lower antioxidant markers. FUNDING SOURCES: CNPq and CAPES.