The Role of Serum Omega 3 Levels on Muscle Mass, Muscle Strength, and Physical Performance in the Elderly Community

A B S T R A C T Introduction. Old age is related to geriatric syndrome where there are several health problems that often occur related to a decrease in body function and an increase in the inflammatory process. Decrease in muscle mass, muscle strength and physical performance will lead to a condition of sarcopenia and frailty syndrome in the elderly. The importance of prevention so that sarcopenia does not occur in the elderly by evaluating the factors that can cause it, one of which is controlling nutritional factors (macro and micro nutrients), such as in research, namely omega-3 macronutrients. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between serum omega-3 levels with muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance in the elderly community at Moehammad Hoesin Hospital Palembang. Methods. This research is an observational analytic study with a cross-sectional approach which was conducted at the Integrated Geriatric Clinic Internal Medicine RSMH Palembang from November 2019 to November 2020. A sample of 21 people aged> 60 years was examined for muscle mass, muscle strength, physical performance and omega- levels. 3 serums. All data processing and analysis in this study used SPSS version 25 for Windows. Results. Of the 21 subjects, it was found that women were 19 people (90.5%) and 2 men (9.5%). The mean value of muscle mass was 37.65 ± 5.7, hand grip strength was 24.04 ± 5 kg, and walking speed was 6.72 ± 1.8 seconds per 6 meters. There were 11 subjects with low serum omega-3 levels of 485.25 ± 110.19 mg. There was a significant relationship between serum omega-3 levels and muscle mass (p = 0.041) with moderate correlation strength (r = 0.448). Conclusion: Muscle mass has a significant relationship with serum omega-3 levels in the elderly with moderate strength. Meanwhile, muscle strength and physical performance did not have a significant relationship.