Maintaining muscle mass and function is important throughout the lifestyle. While environmental factors such as physical activity and healthy nutrition are well investigated, the contribution of genetic factors is still controversial. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the impact of a common ACTN3 polymorphism (rs1815739) on body composition, handgrip strength, knee extensor peak torque, and physical performance (gait speed, 30-s arm curl, 30-s chair stand) in Kosovan adults. In total, 308 participants (160 females and 148 males, age range from 40 to 91 years) took part in this cross-sectional study. Genomic DNA was extracted from saliva and assessed for ACTN3 genotype distribution (41.5% of RR, 53.9% of RX and 4.6% of XX). Genotype allocation did not account for differences in any of the variables. Interestingly, female XX carriers were taller (p = 0.025) and had a higher isokinetic knee extension peak torque (p = 0.024) than the RX+RR group. In males, XX carriers were also taller (p = 0.049) and had a lower BMI (p = 0.026), but did not differ in any of the strength and performance parameters. These results indicate that the ACTN3 R577X polymorphism might exert a sex-specific impact on knee extensor peak torque and BMI.
Keywords: ACTN3 R577X; ageing; genotypes; muscle strength; physical performance.