Evidence mapPaperPMID 41350709Full record

Trial reportNutrition journal2025

Effects of combined nutritional supplementation and exercise on proxy measures of muscle mass, strength, and function in older adults with sarcopenia: a 12-week multicentre RCT.

Jianqin Sun, Mei He, Min Chen, Yanqiu Chen, Wuke Yuan, Fangfang Song, Lei Ren, Honghua Shen, Jurong Zhang, Xiuhua Shen and 13 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in Nutrition journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
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

23 authors.

Jianqin SunHuadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China. jianqins@163.com.
Mei HeBeijing Institute of Nutritional Resources Co., Ltd., Beijing, China.
Min ChenHuadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Yanqiu ChenHuadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Wuke YuanHuadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Fangfang SongDepartment of Clinical Nutrition, College of Health Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Lei RenFourth Rehabilitation Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Honghua ShenFourth Rehabilitation Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Jurong ZhangPengpu Town No.2 Community Health Service Center, Jing'an District, Shanghai, China.
Xiuhua ShenDepartment of Clinical Nutrition, College of Health Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Liwei LiuPacific Insurance Senior Living Investment Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China.
Xiaochun WuTaikang Shenyuan Rehabilitation Hospital Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Chen WangShanghai Research Institute of Sports Science (Shanghai Anti-doping Agency), Shanghai, China.
Jiewen LyuPengpu Town No.2 Community Health Service Center, Jing'an District, Shanghai, China.
Lei XuFourth Rehabilitation Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Yin ZhangFourth Rehabilitation Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Yan ChenTaibao Home (Chengdu) Elderly Care Service Co., Ltd, Chengdu, China.
Hao ZhangTaikang Shenyuan Rehabilitation Hospital Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Fei XiaoHuadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Xiaoli WangShanghai Elderly Nutrition and Health Quality Control Center, Shanghai, China.
Bo ZhaiShanghai Research Institute of Sports Science (Shanghai Anti-doping Agency), Shanghai, China.
Jiahua LiBeijing Institute of Nutritional Resources Co., Ltd., Beijing, China.
Jie ChenHuadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China. laughchen@126.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough nutritional supplementation and exercise have shown independent efficacy in managing sarcopenia, data supporting their combined implementation in real-world clinical settings remain limited.

methodsThis 12-week multicenter randomized controlled trial enrolled 110 older adults (≥ 65 years) with sarcopenia or possible sarcopenia. Participants were randomly allocated (1:1) to either the intervention group (n = 55) or control group (n = 55). In addition to their habitual diets, the intervention group received daily muscle-targeted oral nutritional supplementation (MT-ONS, 2 × 10 g sachets/day: containing 8.4 g protein, 0.5 g calcium β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate, 200 IU D3 per sachet) alongside a structured exercise programs featuring twice-weekly resistance training (20 min/session), alternate-day chair-based exercises (10 min/session), and home-based activity recommendations. Control group participants maintained their habitual dietary and physical activity patterns without intervention. All outcome measures were assessed at baseline and post-intervention.

resultsThe intervention group showed modest increases in BIA-derived appendicular lean tissue (mean change + 0.60 kg, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.88), skeletal muscle index (+ 0.20 kg/m², 95% CI 0.11 to 0.29), and handgrip strength (+ 2.22 kg, 95% CI 1.35 to 3.09) compared with the control group. Improvements were also observed in walking speed, chair-stand performance, Short Physical Performance Battery scores, serum vitamin D, and EQ-5D measures of quality of life.

conclusionA 12-week combined intervention of multi-ingredient nutritional supplementation and exercise led to modest improvements in proxy measures of muscle mass, strength, function, and quality of life in older adults. As muscle mass was not directly measured and the study did not employ a factorial design, the relative contributions of exercise and supplementation cannot be determined. These findings suggest that combined interventions may help attenuate, rather than reverse, sarcopenia-related decline.

trial registrationThis clinical trial was registered on Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2300077187) on 1 November 2023.

Indexed as

Dietary SupplementsExerciseMuscle, SkeletalMuscle StrengthSarcopeniaAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleQuality of LifeResistance TrainingValeratesbeta-hydroxyisovaleric acidValeratesCalcium β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrateExercise interventionMuscle-targeted oral nutritional supplementationOlder adultsQuality of lifeSarcopenia

Identifiers

PMID41350709
PMCPMC12681163

What Socratic 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 Socratic graph.