Dietary acrylamide compromises physical performance in knee OA

In people with knee osteoarthritis (OA) or are at high risk of such condition, dietary acrylamide seems to worsen physical performance and may potentially increase the risk of sarcopoenia, a recent study has found.

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis on 4,436 eligible participants (mean age 61.3±9.1 years, 2,578 women), in whom physical performance was assessed using the 400-metre walking distance, chair-stand, and 20-metre usual pace time tests. A food frequency questionnaire was used to measure dietary acrylamide intake, reported as quartiles.

Participants in the highest consumption quartile of dietary acrylamide reported significantly longer 20-metre walking (15.53±3.32 vs 15.15±2.91 s; p<0.0001), chair stand (11.36±4.08 vs 10.67±3.50 s; p<0.0001), and 400-metre walking (312±54 vs 305±58 s; p=0.005) times than comparators in the first quartile.

Linear regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, and other potential confounders, confirmed that dietary acrylamide compromised physical performance. Each decile-increase in acrylamide intake, for instance, correlated with a significant increase in 20-metre walking time (beta, 0.032, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.016–0.048; p=0.04).

The same was true for 400-metre walking time (beta, 0.048, 95 percent CI, 0.033–0.063; p=0.002) and chair stand time (beta, 0.016, 95 percent CI, 0.005–0.037; p=0.04).

“Higher dietary acrylamide intake was significantly associated with poor physical performance… suggesting a role for this food contaminant as a possible risk factor for sarcopoenia. Future longitudinal studies are however needed to confirm or refute the present findings,” the researchers said.