Month-of-Birth Effect on Muscle Mass and Strength in Community-Dwelling Older Women: The French EPIDOS Cohort

Guillaume T Duval; Anne-Marie Schott; Dolores Sánchez-Rodríguez; François R Herrmann; Cédric Annweiler

doi:10.3390/nu14224874

Month-of-Birth Effect on Muscle Mass and Strength in Community-Dwelling Older Women: The French EPIDOS Cohort

Nutrients. 2022 Nov 18;14(22):4874. doi: 10.3390/nu14224874.

Authors

Guillaume T Duval^{1

2

3}, Anne-Marie Schott⁴, Dolores Sánchez-Rodríguez^{5

6

7}, François R Herrmann⁸, Cédric Annweiler^{1

2

3

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, Health Faculty, University of Angers, F-49100 Angers, France.
² Department of Geriatric Medicine and Memory Clinic, Research Center on Autonomy and Longevity, University Hospital, F-49000 Angers, France.
³ UNIV ANGERS, UPRES EA 4638, F-49045 Angers, France.
⁴ Department IMER (Information Médicale, Evaluation, Recherche), Lyon University Hospital, EA 4129, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, University of Lyon, U831 Lyon, France.
⁵ Geriatrics Department, Brugmann University Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, B-1020 Brussels, Belgium.
⁶ Geriatrics Department, Rehabilitation Research Group, Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigations Médiques (IMIM), E-08003 Barcelona, Spain.
⁷ Division of Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Public Health Aspects of Musculo-Skeletal Health and Ageing, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium.
⁸ Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, Geneva University Hospitals, University of Geneva, CH-1226 Thônex, Switzerland.
⁹ Gérontopôle Autonomie Longévité des Pays de la Loire, F-44200 Nantes, France.
¹⁰ Department of Medical Biophysics, Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5K8, Canada.

Abstract

Background. Vitamin D is involved in muscle health and function. This relationship may start from the earliest stages of life during pregnancy when fetal vitamin D relies on maternal vitamin D stores and sun exposure. Our objective was to determine whether there was an effect of the month of birth (MoB) on muscle mass and strength in older adults. Methods. Data from 7598 community-dwelling women aged ≥ 70 years from the French multicentric EPIDOS cohort were used in this analysis. The quadricipital strength was defined as the mean value of 3 consecutive tests of the maximal isometric voluntary contraction strength of the dominant lower limb. The muscle mass was defined as the total appendicular skeletal muscle mass measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scanner. The MoB was used as a periodic function in regressions models adjusted for potential confounders including age, year of birth, latitude of recruitment center, season of testing, body mass index, number of comorbidities, IADL score, regular physical activity, sun exposure at midday, dietary protein intake, dietary vitamin D intake, use vitamin D supplements, history and current use of corticosteroids. Results. A total of 7133 older women had a measure of muscle strength (mean age, 80.5 ± 3.8 years; mean strength, 162.3 ± 52.1 N). Data on total ASM were available from 1321 women recruited in Toulouse, France (mean, 14.86 ± 2.04 kg). Both the sine and cosine functions of MoB were associated with the mean quadricipital strength (respectively β = -2.1, p = 0.045 and β = -0.5, p = 0.025). The sine function of MoB was associated with total ASM (β = -0.2, p = 0.013), but not the cosine function (β = 0.1, p = 0.092). Both the highest value of average quadricipital strength (mean, 163.4 ± 20.2 N) and the highest value of total ASM (15.24 ± 1.27 kg) were found among participants born in August. Conclusions. Summer-early fall months of birth were associated with higher muscle mass and strength in community-dwelling older women.

Keywords: month of birth; muscle; older adults; pregnancy; vitamin D.

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Dietary Proteins*
Female
Humans
Independent Living*
Muscle Strength / physiology
Muscles
Vitamin D
Vitamins

Substances

Dietary Proteins
Vitamin D
Vitamins

Grants and funding

This work was supported by French Ministry of Health. The sponsor had no role in the design and conduct of the study, in the collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data, or in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.