{
  "abstract": "Background\n\nEpidemiological studies have investigated the potential association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and risk of sarcopenia, with inconsistent results.Objective\n\nThe current systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to synthesize available evidence regarding the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and risk of sarcopenia.Methods\n\nThis review followed PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251145903). A comprehensive literature search was conducted in four electronic databases, including ISI Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from database inception to July 2025. Random-effects model was applied to calculate the pooled odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the highest versus lowest categories of Mediterranean diet score in relation to sarcopenia risk. The Cochran's Q test and I-squared (I²) statistic were used to detect the sources of heterogeneity among the included studies.Results\n\nSeven observational studies (3 cohort and 4 cross-sectional studies) with 9,709 participants were included. The results showed that high adherence to the Mediterranean diet was significantly associated with a reduced risk of sarcopenia (OR = 0.81; 95%CI:0.71-0.92, P = 0.002), with substantial heterogeneity (I² = 70.2%; Pheterogeneity=0.002). Dose-response analysis showed an inverse linear association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and risk of sarcopenia (OR = 0.873; 95% CI:0.846-0.901, Pdose-response<0.001, Pnonlinearity=0.369). Subgroup analyses revealed an inverse association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and risk of sarcopenia in the subgroups of sample size < 1000 (OR = 0.34, 95%CI: 0.20-0.58, P < 0.001), questionnaire/food record (OR = 0.83; 95%CI:0.77-0.89, P < 0.001), and posteriori method defining Mediterranean diet(OR = 0.35; 95%CI: 0.19-0.62, P < 0.001), with less evidence of heterogeneity.Conclusions\n\nOur study suggested that high adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a 19% reduced risk of sarcopenia. Further large prospective studies and randomized controlled trials are needed to affirm these findings.Trial registration\n\nPROSPERO CRD420251145903.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhejiang Hospital, Lingyin Road Number 12, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310013, The People's Republic of China.",
    "Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200434, The People's Republic of China.",
    "Department of Nutrition, Zhejiang Hospital, Lingyin Road Number 12, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310013, The People's Republic of China.",
    "Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200434, The People's Republic of China. kxh22@tongji.edu.cn.",
    "Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhejiang Hospital, Lingyin Road Number 12, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310013, The People's Republic of China. 13666602283@139.com."
  ],
  "article_type": "systematic review",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chenping Xi"
    },
    {
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        1
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      "name": "Jiaqi Wang"
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    {
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        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiaolin Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Caijuan Si"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Xiaohua Ke"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Huiting Zhou"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/em843bd99eqhx.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s40795-026-01434-w",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13685160",
  "id": "em843bd99eqhx",
  "issns": [
    "2055-0928"
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  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42902420",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
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  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13685160?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13685160",
  "pmid": "42902420",
  "published": "2026-07-01",
  "publisher": "BMC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/em843bd99eqhx.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:41Z",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2739|Nutritional Studies and Diet",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
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  "title": "Association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and risk of sarcopenia: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies.",
  "title_text": "Association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and risk of sarcopenia: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:45:41Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/em843bd99eqhx",
  "venue": "BMC nutrition",
  "versions": []
}