The Relationship Between MOTS-c K14Q Polymorphism and Sarcopenia, Blood Lipids, and Mental Health in Older Korean Adults.

An East Asian-specific 1382A>C polymorphism in the mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA type-c results in an amino acid substitution from Lys (K) to Gln (Q) at the 14th amino acid residue. This study investigated the association between m.1382A>C polymorphism and sarcopenia, blood lipids, and mental health in older Korean adults. The study included 683 community-dwelling Korean adults (345 men and 338 women) aged 65 years and older. The m.1382A>C polymorphism was genotyped with a 7500 real-time PCR system. Handgrip strength (HGS) was measured, and appendicular skeletal muscle (ASM) mass was calculated. Demographics, blood lipids, falling risk, nutritional intake, cognition function, and depression were additionally measured. Men carrying the C allele had significantly higher ASM (21.6 ± 3.0 vs. 19.5 ± 2.2 kg, = 0.018), ASM/height (7.76 ± 0.76 vs. 7.14 ± 0.62 kg/m, = 0.012), lean mass (53.3 ± 6.2 vs. 46.5 ± 4.0 kg, < 0.001), left HGS (33.3 ± 5.0 vs. 28.9 ± 4.0 kg, = 0.010), and right HGS (35.6 ± 5.3 vs. 30.9 ± 4.3 kg, = 0.009) than men carrying the A allele. The genotype differences in ASM ( = 0.017), ASM/height ( = 0.011), lean mass ( < 0.001), left HGS ( = 0.010), and right HGS ( = 0.009) remained significant even after adjusting for all measured covariates. By contrast, no significant differences in other measured parameters were found between women carrying the A and C alleles. Our study findings indicate that the m.1382A>C polymorphism may be used as a genetic biomarker of age-related sarcopenia in older Korean men.