Alcohol consumption may not be a risk factor for sarcopenia in the older adults

The relationship between drinking and sarcopenia remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of alcohol drinking with sarcopenia in the older adults. A prospective study with 5244 Chinese community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years was performed. Sarcopenia was assessed by appendicular skeletal muscle mass index, grip strength, and gait speed. A quantitative questionnaire was used to obtain the information of alcohol drinking. After 4-year follow-up, our study showed that drinkers had lower incidence of sarcopenia than those non-drinkers (19.4% vs. 30.4%, <i>P</i> < 0.001 in males and 9.5% vs. 20.4%, <i>P</i> = 0.004 in females, respectively). Moreover, male drinkers had higher levels of muscle mass [median (IQR): 7.3 (6.7-7.9) kg/m² vs. 7.1 (6.5-7.7) kg/m², <i>P</i> < 0.001] grip strength [median (IQR): 31.1 (26.5-35.0) kg vs. 29.6 (24.8-38.8) kg, <i>P</i> < 0.001], and gait speed [median (IQR): 1.08 (0.98-1.17) m/s vs. 1.05 (0.94-1.15) m/s, <i>P</i> < 0.001] than those non-drinkers, while female drinkers had higher gait speed [median (IQR): 1.02 (0.94-1.11) m/s vs. 0.99 (0.89-1.09) m/s, <i>P</i> = 0.031] than those non-drinkers. Multivariate logistic regression showed that in older adults younger than 85 years, both interim drinking (RR = 0.60; 95%CI = 0.39-0.93; <i>P</i> = 0.021 for males; RR = 0.36; 95%CI = 0.13-0.90; <i>P</i> = 0.035 for females) and daily drinking (RR = 0.78; 95%CI = 0.61-0.99; <i>P</i> = 0.045 for males; RR = 0.34; 95%CI = 0.12-0.96; <i>P</i> = 0.041 for females) were correlated with decreased risk of sarcopenia even after adjustment for confounding factors. However, our dose-response analysis did not show any significant relationship between daily alcohol intake and the risk of sarcopenia as well as the components of sarcopenia. In conclusion, our results indicated that alcohol drinking may not be a risk factor for sarcopenia in the older adults. Further research will help to understand the underlying mechanism of the observed causal relationship.