Abstract

Objectives: The main aim was to investigate the association of n-3 fatty acid intake and the n-6/n-3 fatty acid intake ratio with muscle mass and strength in older adults. Methods: This study included 61,381 individuals (28,187 men and 33,194 women) aged >= 60 years. Grip strength and muscle mass index were assessed and n-3 and n-6 fatty acid intake were determined. Regression models adjusted for age, deprivation index, ethnicity, month of assessment, total energy intake, multimorbidity, lifestyle factors and physical activity. A sensitivity analysis was conducted in participants aged >= 65 years and in people with sarcopenia. Results: Data are presented as trend for quintiles from fully adjusted models. Higher n-3 fatty acid intake was associated with a higher grip strength in both men (0.114 kg; 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.21) and women (0.115 kg; 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.18). Similar results were reported for grip strength index, with no associations observed for muscle mass index. No associations were seen in people >= 65 years. In people with sarcopenia no associations of n-3 fatty acid intake with grip strength or grip strength index were seen, but a positive association with muscle mass index was noted in men (0.197 kg/m(2); 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.33). The n-6/n-3 fatty acid intake ratio was associated with grip strength in women (0.081 kg; 95% CI: -0.16 to 0.000) and with muscle mass index in men (-0.016 kg/m(2); 95% CI: -0.02 to 0.00), no other associations were observed. No associations were seen in people with sarcopenia or people >= 65 years. Conclusion: Higher n-3 fatty acid intake, with no consistent association with the n-6/n-3 fatty acid intake, was modestly associated with grip strength, with effects varying by sex and age, suggesting limited benefit for sarcopenia prevention at typical intake levels in older adults. (c) 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS on behalf of SERDI Publisher. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).