Advances in muscle health and nutrition: A toolkit for healthcare professionals

Low muscle mass and malnutrition are prevalent conditions among adults of all ages, with any body weight or body mass index, and with acute or chronic conditions, including COVID-19. This article synthesizes the latest research advancements in muscle health and malnutrition, and their impact on immune function, and clinical outcomes. We provide a toolkit of illustrations and scientific information that healthcare professionals can use for knowledge translation, educating patients about the importance of identifying and treating low muscle mass and malnutrition. We focus on the emerging evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction in the context of aging and disease, as well as the cross-talk between skeletal muscle and the immune system. We address the importance of myosteatosis as a component of muscle composition, and discuss direct, indirect and surrogate assessments of muscle mass including ultra-sound, computerized tomography, deuterated creatine dilution, and calf circumference. Assessments of muscle function are also included (handgrip strength, and physical performance tests). Finally, we address nutrition interventions to support anabolism, reduce catabolism, and improve patient outcomes. These include protein and amino acids, branched-chain amino acids, with a focus on leucine; B-hydroxy-B-methylbutyrate (HMB), vitamin D; n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA), polyphenols, and oral nutritional supplements. We concluded with recommendations for clinical practice and a call for action on research focusing on evaluating the impact of body composition assessments on targeted nutrition interventions, and consequently their ability to improve patient outcomes.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

Low muscle mass and malnutrition are prevalent conditions in adults regardless of age, body weight, body mass index, or acute or chronic conditions. This article summarizes the latest research on muscle health and malnutrition, their impact on immune function and clinical outcomes. It provides healthcare professionals with a toolkit of illustrations and scientific information to educate patients about the importance of identifying and treating low muscle mass and malnutrition. The article focuses on emerging evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction in aging and disease, as well as the interaction between skeletal muscle and the immune system. The importance of myosteatosis as a component of muscle composition is addressed, along with various methods of muscle mass assessment and nutrition interventions to improve patient outcomes.