Background: The process of the globally aging population has been accelerating, leading to an increasing social burden. As people age, the musculoskeletal system will gradually go through a series of degenerative and loss of function and eventually develop age-related musculoskeletal diseases, like sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis. On the other hand, several studies have shown that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) possess various important physiological functions on the health of muscles, bones, and joints. Objective: This narrative review paper provides a summary of the literature about the effects and mechanisms of PUFAs on age-related musculoskeletal diseases for the prevention and management of these diseases. Methods: Web of Science, PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus databases have been searched to select the relevant literature on epidemiological, cellular, and animal experiments and clinical evidence in recent decades with keywords “polyunsaturated fatty acids”, “PUFAs”, “omega-3”, “omega-6”, “musculoskeletal diseases”, “sarcopenia”, “osteoporosis”, “osteoarthritis”, and so on. Results: PUFAs could prevent and treat age-related musculoskeletal diseases (sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis) by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation and controlling the growth, differentiation, apoptosis, and autophagy of cells. This review paper provides comprehensive evidence of PUFAs on age-related musculoskeletal diseases, which will be helpful for exploitation into functional foods and drugs for their prevention and treatment. Conclusions: PUFAs could play an important role in the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis.

Aging and age-related diseases are serious public health issues that are receiving growing attention from researchers. Lutein has a critical function in the prevention and management of these issues. Possible mechanisms mainly include suppressing inflammation and oxidative stress, regulating cell activity, and modulating the levels of toxic substances. In this narrative review paper, we sum up the most current developments in the study of the effects of lutein on aging and five age-related diseases (age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and osteoporosis), and fundamental mechanisms are reviewed. The bioavailability of lutein and the strategies to improve its bioavailability are discussed. This piece of work can bring a clearer comprehension of the protective effects of lutein against aging and age-related diseases and can be also helpful for developing lutein as functional food and dietary supplements for these age-related diseases.

Objective: This research investigated the prospective association of serum homocysteine with lumbar bone mineral density (BMD) and the risk of osteoporosis in the Chinese population. Methods: In this cohort, 2551 Chinese individuals aged ≥50 years underwent annual health examinations. Among them, 2551, 1549, and 926 completed two, three, and more than three examinations, respectively. We used generalized estimating equations to analyze the connection between serum homocysteine and lumbar BMD. Additionally, we assessed the connection between serum homocysteine and the incidence of osteoporosis using Cox proportional hazard models. Subgroup analyses based on covariates were performed to identify important at-risk populations. Results: Participants with higher homocysteine levels showed decreased lumbar BMD compared to those with lower homocysteine levels (p-trend < 0.05). Specifically, lumbar BMD decreased by −0.002 (−0.003, −0.001) g/cm² for every standard deviation increase in log-transformed serum homocysteine. Compared to the lowest quartile of homocysteine levels, lumbar BMD decreased by −0.006 (−0.010, −0.002) g/cm² in the highest quartile in men. In smokers, lumbar BMD decreased by −0.007 (−0.012, −0.003) g/cm² in the highest quartile. During the follow-up period, 175 incidences of osteoporosis were recorded. Serum homocysteine was linked to an increased risk of osteoporosis (p-trend < 0.05). Furthermore, for every standard deviation rise in log-transformed homocysteine, the HR for osteoporosis was 1.33 (95% CI, 1.12–1.58). Conclusions: Elevated homocysteine levels may be responsible for reduced lumbar BMD in middle-aged and older Chinese people, especially men and smokers. In addition, elevated homocysteine levels may be a risk factor for the development of osteoporosis.