Nutrition and Gerontology (ERG)
Profile of the Department
Increasing age is accompanied by changes in body composition, such as a loss of skeletal muscle (sarcopenia) and increase in body fat. This leads to an increased risk of metabolic disease as well as reduction in physical fitness and capacity, which in turn influence quality of life and social participation in old age and increases the need for care. The underlying causes of the changes in body composition in old age are not yet clearly understood, but appear to be multifactorial and encompass hormonal, immunological and neuromuscular changes as well as lifestyle factors such as inadequate nutrition. Here, endogenous (internal) as well as exogenous (external) factors play a role: on the one hand, metabolic processes are known to change with increasing age, on the other hand, the nutrient composition of diets in old age is often inadequate. In addition, with increasing age, a decrease in immune function - known as immunosenescence - and an increase in chronic inflammation can occur. Both this inflammaging (inflammatory aging) and immunosenescence contribute to morbidity (frequency of disease). How this may lead to a change in nutritional requirements has not yet been sufficiently researched. We are therefore investigating how age and ageing processes influence nutrition, body composition and metabolism, with the help of clinical and experimental human intervention studies. Our research focus is on the complex interplay between aging processes, body composition, inflammaging and nutritional processes.
Team

Prof. Dr. Kristina Norman
Head of the Department ERGphone: +49 33 200 88 - 2280
e-mail: kristina.norman@dife.de

Team ERG
Secretary: June Inderthalphone: +49 33 200 88 - 2771
e-mail: office.erg@dife.de
Interdepartmental Cooperation
We work on a cross-departmental basis and are involved in a number of research cooperations with various disciplines at the institute. These include, for example, the psychological expertise of the Department of Decision Neuroscience and Nutrition headed by Prof. Soyoung Q. Park. The close collaboration with the Department of Molecular Toxicology, headed by Prof. Tilman Grune, also provides us with valuable insights into intracellular proteolysis. In addition, we work closely with the Nutrition and Body Composition Working Group, which is part of the Geriatrics Research Group at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and is also headed by Prof. Dr. Norman.
Publications
Haß, U., Heider, S., Kochlik, B., Herpich, C., Pivovarova-Ramich, O., Norman, K.: Effects of Exercise and Omega-3-Supplemented, High-Protein Diet on Inflammatory Markers in Serum, on Gene Expression Levels in PBMC, and after Ex Vivo Whole-Blood LPS Stimulation in Old Adults. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 24(2):928 (2023). [Open Access]
Kochlik, B., Franz, K., Henning, T., Weber, D., Wernitz, A., Herpich, C., Jannasch, F., Aykaç, V., Müller-Werdan, U., Schulze, M. B., Grune, T., Norman, K.: Frailty is characterized by biomarker patterns reflecting inflammation or muscle catabolism in multi-morbid patients. J. Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 14(1), 157-166 (2023). [Open Access]
Walter, S., Jung, T., Herpich, C., Norman, K., Pivovarova-Ramich, O., Ott, C.: Determination of the autophagic flux in murine and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Front. Cell Develop. Biol. 11:1122998 (2023). [Open Access]
Haß, U., Herpich, C., Kochlik, B., Weber, D., Grune, T., Norman, K.: Dietary Inflammatory Index and Cross-Sectional Associations with Inflammation, Muscle Mass and Function in Healthy Old Adults. J. Nutr. Health Aging 26, 346–351 (2022). [Open Access]
Haß, U., Kochlik, B., Herpich, C., Rudloff, S., Norman, K.: Effects of an Omega-3 Supplemented, High-Protein Diet in Combination with Vibration and Resistance Exercise on Muscle Power and Inflammation in Old Adults: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients 14(20):4274 (2022). [Open Access]
Henning, T., Kochlik, B., Kusch, P., Strauss, M., Jurić, V., Pignitter, M., Marusch, F., Grune, T., Weber, D.: Pre-Operative Assessment of Micronutrients, Amino Acids, Phospholipids and Oxidative Stress in Bariatric Surgery Candidates. Antioxidants 11(4):774 (2022). [Open Access]
Herpich, C., Kochlik, B., Weber, D., Ott, C., Grune, T., Norman, K., Raupbach, J.: Fasting concentrations and postprandial response of 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds 3-deoxyglucosone, glyoxal and methylglyoxal are not increased in healthy older adults. J. Gerontol. Ser. A-Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 77(5), 934–940 (2022). [Open Access]
Herpich, C., Lehmann, S., Kochlik, B., Kleinert, M., Klaus, S., Müller-Werdan, U., Norman, K.: The Effect of Dextrose or Protein Ingestion on Circulating Growth Differentiation Factor 15 and Appetite in Older Compared to Younger Women. Nutrients 14(19):4066 (2022). [Open Access]
Herpich, C., Franz, K., Klaus, S., Müller-Werdan, U., Ost, M., Norman, K.: Age-related fatigue is associated with reduced mitochondrial function in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Exp. Gerontol. 144:111177 (2021).
Herpich, C., Franz, K., Ost, M., Otten, L., Coleman, V., Klaus, S., Müller-Werdan, U., Norman, K.: Associations between serum GDF15 concentrations, muscle mass and strength show sex-specific differences in older hospital patients. Rejuv. Res. 24(1), 14-19 (2021).
Herpich, C., Haß, U., Kochlik, B., Franz, K., Laeger, T., Klaus, S., Bosy-Westphal, A., Norman, K.: Postprandial dynamics and response of fibroblast growth factor 21 in older adults. Clin. Nutr. 40(6), 3765-3771 (2021).
Herpich, C., Kochlik, B., Haß, U., Weber, D., Grune, T., Norman, K.: Altered Adiponectin Response in Older Women Following Dextrose and High-Fat Dietary Challenges. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 65(17):2100487 (2021). [Open Access]
Tank, M., Franz, K., Cereda, E., Norman, K.: Dietary supplement use in ambulatory cancer patients: a survey on prevalence, motivation and attitudes. J. Cancer Res. Clin. Oncol. 147, 1917–1925 (2021). [Open Access]
Weber, D., Kochlik, B., Demuth, I., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E., Grune, T., Norman, K.: Plasma carotenoids, tocopherols and retinol - Association with age in the Berlin Aging Study II. Red. Bio. 32:101461 (2020). [Open Access]
Franz, K., Otten, L., Muller-Werdan, U., Doehner, W., Norman, K.: Severe Weight Loss and Its Association with Fatigue in Old Patients at Discharge from a Geriatric Hospital. Nutrients 11 (2019). [Open Access]
Franz, K., Ost, M., Otten, L., Herpich, C., Coleman, V., Endres, A.-S., Klaus, S., Müller-Werdan, U., Norman, K.: Higher serum levels of fibroblast growth factor 21 in old patients with cachexia. Nutrition 63-64, 81-86 (2019).
Otten, L., Stobäus, N., Franz, K., Genton, L., Müller-Werdan, U., Wirth, R., Norman, K.: Impact of sarcopenia on 1-year mortality in older patients with cancer. Age Ageing 48, 413-418 (2019).
Spira, D., Buchmann, N., König, M., Rosada, A., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E., Demuth, I., Norman, K.: Sex-specific differences in the association of vitamin D with low lean mass and frailty – Results from the Berlin Aging Study II. Nutrition 62, 1-6 (2019).
Preis, E., Franz, K., Siegert, E., Makowka, A., March, C., Riemekasten, G., Cereda, E., Norman, K.: The impact of malnutrition on quality of life in patients with systemic sclerosis. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 72, 504-510 (2018).
Siegert, E., March, C., Otten, L., Makowka, A., Preis, E., Buttgereit, F., Riemekasten, G., Müller-Werdan, U., Norman, K.: Prevalence of sarcopenia in systemic sclerosis: Assessing body composition and functional disability in patients with systemic sclerosis. Nutrition 55-56, 51-55 (2018).
Barazzoni, R., Jensen, G. L., Correia, M. I. T. D., Gonzalez, M. C., Higashiguchi, T., Shi, H. P., Bischoff, S. C., Boirie, Y., Carrasco, F., Cruz-Jentoft, A., Fuchs-Tarlovsky, V., Fukushima, R., Heymsfield, S., Mourtzakis, M., Muscaritoli, M., Norman, K., Nyulasi, I., Pisprasert, V., Prado, C., de van der Schuren, M., Yoshida, S., Yu, Y., Cederholm, T., Compher, C.: Guidance for assessment of the muscle mass phenotypic criterion for the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) diagnosis of malnutrition. Clin. Nutr. 41(6), 1425-1433 (2022). [Open Access]
Buchmann, N., Fielitz, J., Spira, D., König, M., Norman, K., Pawelec, G., Goldeck, D., Demuth, I., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E.: Muscle Mass and Inflammation in Older Adults: Impact of the Metabolic Syndrome. Gerontology in press (E-pub ahead of print) (2022). [Open Access]
Cereda, E., Tancredi, R., Klersy, C., Lobascio, F., Crotti, S., Masi, S., Cappello, S., Stobäus, N., Tank, M., Cutti, S., Arcaini, L., Bonzano, E., Colombo, S., Pedrazzoli, P., Norman, K., Caccialanza, R.: Muscle weakness as an additional criterion for grading sarcopenia-related prognosis in patients with cancer. Cancer Med. 11(2), 308-316 (2022). [Open Access]
Compher, C., Cederholm, T., Correia, Mitd, Gonzalez, M. C., Higashiguch, T., Shi, H. P., Bischoff, S. C., Boirie, Y., Carrasco, F., Cruz-Jentoft, A., Fuchs-Tarlovsky, V., Fukushima, R., Heymsfield, S., Mourtzakis, M., Muscaritoli, M., Norman, K., Nyulasi, I., Pisprasert, V., Prado, C., de van der Schuren, M., Yoshida, S., Yu, Y., Jensen, G., Barazzoni, R.: Guidance for assessment of the muscle mass phenotypic criterion for the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition diagnosis of malnutrition. J. Parenter. Enteral Nutr. 46(6), 1232-1242 (2022).
Buchmann, N., Eckstein, N., Spira, D., Demuth, I., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E., Norman, K.: Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with metabolic syndrome independent of insulin resistance and obesity in young, but not in old adults – Results from The Berlin Aging Study II. Diab. Metab. Res. Rev. 37(8):e3457 (2021). [Open Access]
Cereda, E., Caraccia, M., Klersy, C., Cappello, S., Turri, A., Borioli, V., Stobäus, N., Giannoni, A., Arcaini, L., Benazzo, M., Palladini, G., Pedrazzoli, P., Norman, K., Caccialanza, R.: Validation of a new prognostic body composition parameter in cancer patients. Clin. Nutr. 40(2), 615-623 (2021).
Cereda, E., Pedrazzoli, P., Lobascio, F., Masi, S., Crotti, S., Klersy, C., Turri, A., Stobäus, N., Tank, M., Franz, K., Cutti, S., Giaquinto, E., Filippi, A. R., Norman, K., Caccialanza, R.: The prognostic impact of BIA-derived fat-free mass index in patients with cancer. Clin. Nutr. 40(6), 3901-3907 (2021).
Kabisch, S., Wenschuh, S., Buccellato, P., Spranger, J., Pfeiffer, A. F. H.: Affordability of Different Isocaloric Healthy Diets in Germany-An Assessment of Food Prices for Seven Distinct Food Patterns. Nutrients 13(9):3037 (2021). [Open Access]
Nikolov, J., Norman, K., Buchmann, N., Spranger, J., Demuth, I., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E., Spira, D., Mai, K.: Association between meal-specific daily protein intake and lean mass in older adults: results of the cross-sectional BASE-II study. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 114(3), 1141–1147 (2021). [Open Access]
Strube-Lahmann, S., Müller-Werdan, U., Norman, K., Skarabis, H., Lahmann, N. A.: Underweight in Nursing Homes: Differences between Men and Women. Gerontol. 67(2), 211–219 (2021). [Open Access]
Fischer, B., Sedlmeier, A. M., Hartwig, S., Schlett, C. L., Ahrens, W., Bamberg, F., Baurecht, H., Becher, H., Berger, K., Binder, H., Bohn, B., Carr, P. R., Castell, S., Franzke, C. W., Fricke, J., Gastell, S., Greiser, K. H., Gunther, K., Jaeschke, L., Kaaks, R., Kemmling, Y., Krist, L., Kuss, O., Legath, N., Lieb, W., Linseisen, J., Loffler, M., Michels, K. B., Mikolajczyk, R., Niedermaier, T., Norman, K., Obi, N., Peters, A., Pischon, T., Schikowski, T., Schipf, S., Schmidt, B., Schulze, M. B., Stang, A., Stojicic, J., Tiller, D., Volzke, H., Waniek, S., Leitzmann, M. F.: Anthropometric measures in the German National Cohort - more than weight and height. Bundesgesundheitsblatt 63(3), 290-300 (2020). [Open Access]
Genton, L., Mareschal, J., Norman, K., Karsegard, V. L., Delsoglio, M., Pichard, C., Graf, C., Herrmann, F. R.: Association of phase angle and running performance. Clin. Nut. ESPEN 37, 65-68 (2020).
Röhr, F., Bucholtz, N., Toepfer, S., Norman, K., Spira, D., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E., Lill, C. M., Bertram, L., Demuth, I., Buchmann, N., Duzel, S.: Relationship between Lipoprotein (a) and cognitive function - Results from the Berlin Aging Study II. Sci. Rep. 10(1):10636 (2020). [Open Access]
Buchmann, N., Spira, D., König, M., Norman, K., Demuth, I., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E.: Problematic drinking in the old and its association with muscle mass and muscle function in type II diabetes. Sci. Rep. 9(1):12005 (2019). [Open Access]
Erickson, N., Storck, L. J., Kolm, A., Norman, K., Fey, T., Schiffler, V., Ottery, F. D., Jager-Wittenaar, H.: Tri-country translation, cultural adaptation, and validity confirmation of the Scored Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment. Support. Care Cancer 27, 3499-3507 (2019).
Hensel, C., Becker, M., Düzel, S., Demuth, I., Norman, K., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E., Gallinat, J., Lindenberger, U., Kühn, S.: Influence of nutritional tyrosine on cognition and functional connectivity in healthy old humans. NeuroImage 193, 139-145 (Manuscript online auf bioRXiv) (2019).
Jensen, B., Moritoyo, T., Kaufer-Horwitz, M., Peine, S., Norman, K., Maisch, M., Matsumoto, A., Masui, Y., Velázquez-González, A., Domínguez-García, J., Fonz-Enríquez, E., Salgado-Moctezuma, S. G., Bosy-Westphal, A.: Ethnic differences in fat and muscle mass and their implication for interpretation of bioelectrical impedance vector analysis. Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 44, 619-626 (2019). [Open Access]
Knappe-Drzikova, B., Maasberg, S., Vonderbeck, D., Krafft, T. A., Knüppel, S., Sturm, A., Müller-Nordhorn, J., Wiedenmann, B., Pape, U. F.: Malnutrition predicts long-term survival in hospitalized patients with gastroenterological and hepatological diseases. Clin. Nutr. ESPEN 30, 26-34 (2019).
Reber, E., Norman, K., Endrich, O., Schuetz, P., Frei, A., Stanga, Z.: Economic challenges in nutritional management. J. Clin. Med. 8(7): 1005 (2019). [Open Access]
Scherbakov, N., Pietrock, C., Sandek, A., Ebner, N., Valentova, M., Springer, J., Schefold, J. C., von Haehling, S., Anker, S. D., Norman, K., Haeusler, K. G., Doehner, W.: Body weight changes and incidence of cachexia after stroke. J. Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 10, 611-620 (2019). [Open Access]
Schmidt, A. F., Holmes, M. V., Preiss, D., Swerdlow, D. I., Denaxas, S., Fatemifar, G., Faraway, R., Finan, C., Valentine, D., Fairhurst-Hunter, Z., Hartwig, F. P., Horta, B. L., Hypponen, E., Power, C., Moldovan, M., van Iperen, E., Hovingh, K., Demuth, I., Norman, K., […], Sattar, N., Houlston, R., Casas, J. P., Hingorani, A. D.: Phenome-wide association analysis of LDL-cholesterol lowering genetic variants in PCSK9. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 19, 240 (2019). [Open Access]
Volkert, D., Kiesswetter, E., Cederholm, T., Donini, L. M., Eglseer, D., Norman, K., Schneider, S. M., Ströbele-Benschop, N., Torbahn, G., Wirth, R., Visser, M.: Development of a model on determinants of malnutrition in aged persons: A MaNuEL project. Gerontol. Geriatr. Med. 5:2333721419858438 (2019). [Open Access]
Bosy-Westphal, A., Braun, W., Geisler, C., Norman, K., Müller, M. J.: Body composition and cardiometabolic health: the need for novel concepts. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 72, 638-644 (2018).
Düzel, S., Buchmann, N., Drewelies, J., Gerstorf, D., Lindenberger, U., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E., Norman, K., Demuth, I.: Validation of a single factor representing the indicators of metabolic syndrome as a continuous measure of metabolic load and its association with health and cognitive function. PLoS One 13(12):e0208231 (2018). [Open Access]
König, M., Drewelies, J., Norman, K., Spira, D., Buchmann, N., Hülür, G., Eibich, P., Wagner, G. G., Lindenberger, U., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E., Gerstorf, D., Demuth, I.: Historical trends in modifiable indicators of cardiovascular health and self-rated health among older adults: Cohort differences over 20 years between the Berlin Aging Study (BASE) and the Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II). PLoS One 13(1): e0191699 (2018). [Open Access]
Norman, K., Herpich, C., Müller-Werdan, U.: Role of phase angle in older adults with focus on the geriatric syndromes sarcopenia and frailty. Rev. Endocr. Metab. Disord. 24(3), 429–437 (2023).
Barcena, M. L., Aslam, M., Pozdniakova, S., Norman, K., Ladilov, Y.: Cardiovascular Inflammaging: Mechanisms and Translational Aspects. Cells 11(6):1010 (2022). [Open Access]
Herpich, C., Mueller-Werdan, U., Norman, K.: Role of plant-based diets in promoting health and longevity. Maturitas 165, 47-51 (2022).
Norman, K., Haß, U., Pirlich, M.: Malnutrition in Older Adults—Recent Advances and Remaining Challenges. Nutrients 13(8):2764 (2021). [Open Access]
Norman, K., Klaus, S.: Veganism, aging and longevity: new insight into old concepts. Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care 23(2), 145-150 (2020).
Walowski, C. O., Braun, W., Maisch, M. J., Jensen, B., Peine, S., Norman, K., Muller, M. J., Bosy-Westphal, A.: Reference Values for Skeletal Muscle Mass - Current Concepts and Methodological Considerations. Nutrients 12(3):755 (2020). [Open Access]
Deutz, N. E. P., Ashurst, I., Ballesteros, M. D., Bear, D. E., Cruz-Jentoft, A. J., Genton, L., Landi, F., Laviano, A., Norman, K., Prado, C. M.: The underappreciated role of low muscle mass in the management of malnutrition. J. Am. Med. Dir. Assoc. 20, 22-27 (2019). [Open Access]
Haß, U., Herpich, C., Norman, K.: Anti-inflammatory diets and fatigue. Nutrients 11(10): e2315 (2019). [Open Access]
Mareschal, J., Achamrah, N., Norman, K., Genton, L.: Clinical value of muscle mass assessment in clinical conditions associated with malnutrition. J. Clin. Med. 8(7): 1040 (2019). [Open Access]
Norman, K., Herder, C.: Sarkopene Adipositas und Inflammation [Sarcopenic obesity and inflammation]. Diabetologe 15, 311–317 (2019).
Norman, K., Otten, L.: Financial impact of sarcopenia or low muscle mass – A short review. Clin. Nutr. 38, 1489-1495 (2019).
Volkert, D., Beck, A. M., Cederholm, T., Cereda, E., Cruz-Jentoft, A., Goisser, S., de Groot, L., Großhauser, F., Kiesswetter, E., Norman, K., Pourhassan, M., Reinders, I., Roberts, H. C., Rolland, Y., Schneider, S. M., Sieber, C. C., Thiem, U., Visser, M., Wijnhoven, H. A. H., Wirth, R.: Management of malnutrition in older patients-current approaches, evidence and open questions. J. Clin. Med. 8(7): 974 (2019). [Open Access]
Müller-Werdan, U., Norman, K.: Aktuelle Aspekte kardiologischer Therapien bei älteren Menschen [Current Concepts of Cardiologic Therapies in the Elderly]. Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. 143, 460-464 (2018).
Haß, U., Norman, K.: Sarkopenie und Kachexie. In: Plauth, M. (ed.) Ernährungsmedizin in der Gastroenterologie (Kapitel 3). De Gruyter, S. 33-52 (2021).
Norman, K.: Financial Impact of Sarcopenia. In: Cruz-Jentoft, A. J., Morley, J. E. (eds) Sarcopenia (Chapter 27). John Wiley & Sons Ltd., pp. 421-431 (2021).
Boeing, H., Norman, K.: Fehl- und Mangelernährung – Prävalenz, Bedeutung und Implikationen für die Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung. In: Tiemann, M., Mohokum, M. (eds) Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung. Springer (2020).
Haß, U., Schütte, O., Franz, K., Norman, K.: Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) – Nützlicher Wegweiser in der praktischen Beratung oder rein theoretisches Modell in der Ernährungsforschung?. Aktuel. Ernährungsmed. 46(3), 174-185 (2021).
Matthews, D. E., Norman, K.: Editorial: Biomarkers in nutritional research. Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care 24(5), 393-394 (2021).
Matthews, D. E., Norman, K.: Editorial: A different year from any before. Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care 23(5), 295 (2020).
Knüppel, S., Norman, K., Boeing, H.: Is a single 24-hour dietary recall per person sufficient to estimate the population distribution of usual dietary intake?. J. Nutr. 149, 1491-1492 (Commentary) (2019). [Open Access]