Hostname: page-component-76d6cb85b7-ntvhh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-07-27T06:34:17.522Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Association between dietary advanced glycation end products and sarcopenia: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2018

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2026

Wenzhuo Zhang ,
Di Liu ,
Man Zhang ,
Sumei Yuan ,
Liqiang Qin  and
Zhongxiao Wan Open the ORCID record for Zhongxiao Wan [Opens in a new window]
Wenzhuo Zhang
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China
Di Liu
Affiliation:
The Second Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, People’s Republic of China
Man Zhang
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China
Sumei Yuan
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China
Liqiang Qin*
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China
Zhongxiao Wan*
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China
*
Corresponding authors: Liqiang Qin; Email: qinliqiang@suda.edu.cn, Zhongxiao Wan; Email: zhxwan@suda.edu.cn
Corresponding authors: Liqiang Qin; Email: qinliqiang@suda.edu.cn, Zhongxiao Wan; Email: zhxwan@suda.edu.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

To investigate the association between dietary advanced glycation end products (dAGE) and sarcopenia in USA adults. A total of 7590 participants aged 20–59 years were included in this study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–2018. Dietary AGE intake was assessed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem MS-based AGE database combined with 24-h dietary recall. Sarcopenia was assessed by appendicular lean BMI (ALMI). Linear regression was used to examine the association between dAGE and ALMI. Logistic regression was adopted to examine the association between total and food-derived AGE with the prevalence of sarcopenia. The mediating role of bone mineral density (BMD) and serum 25 (OH) D3 on the association between dAGE and ALMI was also explored. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 7·26 %. Compared with the low intake tertile (T1), the OR for sarcopenia among participants in the high tertile (T3) of dAGE, (1-carboxyethyl) lysine and Nδ-(5-hydro-5-methyl-4-imidazolon-2-yl)-ornithine intake was 1·66 (95 % CI: 1·05, 2·64; Ptrend = 0·031), 1·56 (95 % CI: 1·01, 2·40; P trend = 0·042) and 1·60 (95 % CI: 1·03, 2·48; Ptrend = 0·033), respectively. Meat and baked foods derived AGE showed significant associations with the prevalence of sarcopenia. Mediation analysis demonstrated that 14·75% and 12·95 % of the association between dAGE and ALMI were mediated by the BMD and serum 25 (OH) D3, respectively. In the USA adult population, dietary AGE were positively associated with sarcopenia, particularly in meat and baked foods, with BMD and serum 25 (OH) D3 partially mediating this association.

Keywords

Dietary advanced glycation end productsSarcopeniaBone mineral densitySerum 25 (OH) D3Appendicular lean BMI

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , First View , pp. 1 - 10
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

Wenzhuo Zhang and Di Liu make equal contribution to this study.

References

Cruz-Jentoft, AJ, Bahat, G, Bauer, J, et al. (2019) Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing 48, 16–31.10.1093/ageing/afy169CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Papadopoulou, S (2020) Sarcopenia: a contemporary health problem among older adult populations. Nutrients 12, 1293.10.3390/nu12051293CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jang, EH, Han, YJ, Jang, SE, et al. (2021) Association between diet quality and sarcopenia in older adults: systematic review of prospective cohort studies. Life 11, 811.10.3390/life11080811CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karlsson, M, Becker, W, Michaelsson, K, et al. (2020) Associations between dietary patterns at age 71 and the prevalence of sarcopenia 16 years later. Clin Nutr 39, 1077–1084.10.1016/j.clnu.2019.04.009CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rowan, S, Bejarano, E & Taylor, A (2018) Mechanistic targeting of advanced glycation end-products in age-related diseases. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis 1864, 3631–3643.10.1016/j.bbadis.2018.08.036CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Twarda-Clapa, A, Olczak, A, Białkowska, AM, et al. (2022) Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs): formation, chemistry, classification, receptors, and diseases related to AGEs. Cells 11, 1312.10.3390/cells11081312CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mori, H, Kuroda, A, Ishizu, M, et al. (2019) Association of accumulated advanced glycation end-products with a high prevalence of sarcopenia and dynapenia in patients with type 2 diabetes. J Diabetes Invest 10, 1332–1340.10.1111/jdi.13014CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mori, H, Kuroda, A, Araki, M, et al. (2017) Advanced glycation end-products are a risk for muscle weakness in Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes. J Diabetes Investig 8, 377–382.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Molinari, P, Caldiroli, L, Dozio, E, et al. (2022) Association between advanced glycation end-products and sarcopenia in patients with chronic kidney disease. Biomedicines 10, 1489.10.3390/biomedicines10071489CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yabuuchi, J, Ueda, S, Yamagishi, SI, et al. (2020) Association of advanced glycation end products with sarcopenia, frailty in chronic kidney disease. Sci Rep 10, 17647.10.1038/s41598-020-74673-xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waqas, K, Chen, J, Lu, T, et al. (2022) Dietary advanced glycation end-products (dAGEs) intake and its relation to sarcopenia and frailty – the Rotterdam study. Bone 165, 116564.10.1016/j.bone.2022.116564CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Uribarri, J, del Castillo, MD, de la Maza, MP, et al. (2015) Dietary advanced glycation end products and their role in health and disease. Adv Nutr 6, 461–473.10.3945/an.115.008433CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Phuong-Nguyen, K, McNeill, BA, Aston-Mourney, K, et al. (2023) Advanced glycation end-products and their effects on gut health. Nutrients 15, 405.10.3390/nu15020405CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, C, Liu, N, Xia, Y, et al. (2022) Osteoporosis and sarcopenia-related traits: a bi-directional Mendelian randomization study. Front Endocrinol 13, 975647.10.3389/fendo.2022.975647CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wu, M, Cai, Y-L, Yang, Y, et al. (2023) Vitamin D ameliorates insulin resistance-induced osteopenia by inactivating the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome. Heliyon 9, e13215.10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13215CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, Y, Ma, W, Pu, J, et al. (2023) Interrelationships between sarcopenia, bone turnover markers and low bone mineral density in patients on hemodialysis. Renal Fail 45, 2200846.10.1080/0886022X.2023.2200846CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Illien-Junger, S, Palacio-Mancheno, P, Kindschuh, WF, et al. (2018) Dietary advanced glycation end products have sex- and age-dependent effects on vertebral bone microstructure and mechanical function in mice. J Bone Miner Res 33, 437–448.10.1002/jbmr.3321CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, J, van der Duin, D, Campos-Obando, N, et al. (2019) Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) is associated with advanced glycation end products (AGEs) measured as skin autofluorescence: the Rotterdam study. Eur J Epidemiol 34, 67–77.10.1007/s10654-018-0444-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamagishi, S-I, Adachi, H, Nakamura, K, et al. (2006) Positive association between serum levels of advanced glycation end products and the soluble form of receptor for advanced glycation end products in nondiabetic subjects. Metabolism 55, 1227–1231.10.1016/j.metabol.2006.05.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xie, F, Zhao, J, Liu, D, et al. (2024) Associations of dietary advanced glycation end products with liver steatosis via vibration controlled transient elastography in the United States: a nationwide cross-sectional study. Eur J Nutr 63, 173–183.10.1007/s00394-023-03253-2CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Si, C, Liu, F, Peng, Y, et al. (2024) Association of total and different food-derived advanced glycation end-products with risks of all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Food Funct 15, 1553–1561.10.1039/D3FO03945ECrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McLean, RR, Shardell, MD, Alley, DE, et al. (2014) Criteria for clinically relevant weakness and low lean mass and their longitudinal association with incident mobility impairment and mortality: the foundation for the national institutes of health (FNIH) sarcopenia project. J Gerontol: Ser A 69, 576–583.10.1093/gerona/glu012CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gottumukkala, A & Shakappa, D (2024) Estimation of advanced glycation end products in selected foods and beverages by spectrofluorimetry and ELISA. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 79, 277–284.10.1007/s11130-024-01173-yCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhang, X, Chen, X, Li, S, et al. (2024) Association between advanced glycation end products and sarcopenia: the mediating role of osteoporosis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 109, e1105–e1116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carmeli, E (2017) Frailty and primary sarcopenia: a review. Adv Exp Med Biol 1020, 53–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mori, H & Tokuda, Y (2019) Differences and overlap between sarcopenia and physical frailty in older community-dwelling Japanese. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 28, 157–165.Google ScholarPubMed
Clemente-Suarez, VJ, Beltran-Velasco, AI, Redondo-Florez, L, et al. (2023) Global impacts of western diet and its effects on metabolism and health: a narrative review. Nutrients 15, 2749.10.3390/nu15122749CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jansen, FAC, Fogliano, V, Rubert, J, et al. (2023) Dietary advanced glycation end products interacting with the intestinal epithelium: what do we really know? Mol Metab 73, 101734.10.1016/j.molmet.2023.101734CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Uribarri, J, Woodruff, S, Goodman, S, et al. (2010) Advanced glycation end products in foods and a practical guide to their reduction in the diet. J Am Diet Assoc 110, 911–6.e12.10.1016/j.jada.2010.03.018CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poulsen, MW, Hedegaard, RV, Andersen, JM, et al. (2013) Advanced glycation endproducts in food and their effects on health. Food Chem Toxicol 60, 10–37.10.1016/j.fct.2013.06.052CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Santos, HO, Gomes, GK, Schoenfeld, BJ, et al. (2021) The effect of whole egg intake on muscle mass: are the yolk and its nutrients important? Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 31, 514–521.10.1123/ijsnem.2021-0086CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ge, W, Jie, J, Yao, J, et al. (2022) Advanced glycation end products promote osteoporosis by inducing ferroptosis in osteoblasts. Mol Med Rep 25, 140.10.3892/mmr.2022.12656CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferreyro-Bravo, F, Ceballos-Cruz, A, Urruchua-Rodriguez, MJ, et al. (2023) Differential association of glycation products with bone mineral density and fat mass in healthy and diabetes type 2 subjects from mexican southeastern: a cross sectional study. Medicina 59, 1451.10.3390/medicina59081451CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vaes, AMM, Brouwer-Brolsma, EM, Toussaint, N, et al. (2019) The association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration, physical performance and frailty status in older adults. Eur J Nutr 58, 1173–1181.10.1007/s00394-018-1634-0CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhang, J, Cheng, Y, Chen, C, et al. (2023) Interaction of estradiol and vitamin D with low skeletal muscle mass among middle-aged and elderly women. BMC Womens Health 23, 491.10.1186/s12905-023-02646-zCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Houston, DK, Cesari, Y, Ferrucci, L, et al. (2007) Association between vitamin D status and physical performance: the InCHIANTI study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 62, 440–446. doi: 10.1093/gerona/62.4.440 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suzuki, A, Yabu, A & Nakamura, H (2022) Advanced glycation end products in musculoskeletal system and disorders. Methods 203, 179–186.10.1016/j.ymeth.2020.09.012CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olson, LC, Nguyen, TM, Heise, RL, et al. (2021) Advanced glycation end products are retained in decellularized muscle matrix derived from aged skeletal muscle. Int J Mol Sci 22, 8832.10.3390/ijms22168832CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chiu, CY, Yang, RS, Sheu, ML, et al. (2016) Advanced glycation end-products induce skeletal muscle atrophy and dysfunction in diabetic mice via a RAGE-mediated, AMPK-down-regulated, Akt pathway. J Pathol 238, 470–482.10.1002/path.4674CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, TJ, Shang, S, Wan, Q, et al. (2025) Dietary advanced glycation end-products exacerbate sarcopenia onset by activating apoptosis through PRMT1-mediated CRTC3 arginine methylation. Cell Mol Life Sci 82, 142.10.1007/s00018-025-05657-1CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

Zhang et al. supplementary material

Zhang et al. supplementary material
Download Zhang et al. supplementary material(File)
File 14.5 KB