1,721,037 research outputs found
Carotenoids as protection against sarcopenia in older adults
No full textSarcopenia, or loss of muscle mass and strength, plays a major role in the disablement process in older adults and increases the risk of impaired physical performance, falls, physical disability, frailty, and death. Oxidative stress is a major mechanism implicated in the pathogenesis of sarcopenia; aging muscle shows increased oxidative damage to DNA, protein, and lipids. Carotenoids quench free radicals, reduce damage from reactive oxygen species, and appear to modulate redox-sensitive transcription factors such as NF-kappa B that are involved in the upregulation of IL-6 and other proinflammatory cytokines. Recent epidemiological studies in community-dwelling older adults show that low serum/plasma carotenoids are independently associated with low skeletal muscle strength and the development of walking disability. These observations are consistent with a growing number of studies showing that a diet with high intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of inflammation, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc
Carotenoids as protection against disability in older persons
No full textThe purpose was to examine the relationship of total plasma carotenoids, an indicator of fruit and vegetable intake, with walking speed and severe walking disability in older adults. Nine hundred twenty-eight men and women aged 65 to 102 years from the Invecchiare in Chianti (Aging in the Chianti Area [InCHIANTI]) study, a population-based cohort in Tuscany, Italy, were studied. Plasma carotenoids were measured at enrollment (1998-2000), and walking speed over 4 meters and 400 meters distance were assessed at enrollment and 6 years later (2004-2006). At enrollment, 85 of 928 (9.2%) participants had severe walking disability (defined as being unable to walk or having a walking speed at the 4-meter walking test < 0.4 m/sec). After adjusting for potential confounders, participants with high total plasma carotenoids were significantly less likely to have prevalent severe walking disability (odds ration [OR] 0.59, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.38-0.90, p = 0.01) and had higher walking speed over 4 meters (,6 = 0.024, standard error [SE] = 0.011, p = 0.03) and over 400 meters (0 = 0.019, SE = 0.010, p = 0.04). Of 621 participants without severe walking disability at enrollment who were seen 6 years later, 68 (11.0%) developed severe walking disability. After adjusting for potential confounders, higher total plasma carotenoids were associated with a significantly lower risk of developing severe walking disability (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.30-0.86, p = 0.01) and were associated with a less steep decline in 4-meter walking speed over a 6-year follow-up (n = 579; beta = 0.026, SE = 0.012, p = 0.03) and with lower incidence rates of being unable to successfully complete the 400-meter walking test at the 6-year follow-up visit (beta = -0.054, SE = 0.03, p = 0.04). High plasma carotenoids concentrations may be protective against the decline in walking speed and the development of severe walking disability in older adults
Effect of protein intake on change in muscle strength in older persons: does inflammation matter?
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Low nutrient intake is an essential component of frailty in older persons
No full textBackground. Poor nutrient intake is conceptualized to be a component of frailty, but this hypothesis has been little investigated. We examined the association between low energy and nutrient intake and frailty. Methods. We used data from 802 persons aged 65 years or older participating to the InCHIANTI (Invecchiare in Chianti, aging in the Chianti area) study. Frailty was defined by having at least two of the following criteria: low muscle strength, feeling of exhaustion, low walking speed, and reduced physical activity. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC) questionnaire was used to estimate the daily intake of energy and nutrients. Low intake was defined using the value corresponding to the lowest sex-specific intake quintile of energy and specific nutrients. Adjusted logistic regression analyses were used to study the association of frailty and frailty criteria with low intakes of energy and nutrients. Results. Daily energy intake <= 21 kcal/kg was significantly associated with frailty (odds ratio [OR]: 1.24; 95% Cl: 1.02-1.5). After adjusting for energy intake, a low intake of protein (OR: 1.98; 95% Cl: 1.18-3.31); vitamins D (OR: 2.35; 95% Cl: 1.48-3.73), E (OR: 2.06; 95% Cl: 1.28-3.33), C (OR: 2.15; 95% Cl: 1.34-3.45), and folate (OR: 1.84; 95% Cl: 1.14-2.98); and having a low intake of more than three nutrients (OR: 2.12; 95% Cl: 1.29-3.50) were significantly and independently related to frailty. Conclusions. This study provides evidence that low intakes of energy and selected nutrients are independently associated with frailty
Association of low plasma selenium concentrations with poor muscle strength in older community-dwelling adults: the InCHIANTI Study
No full textBackground: Although selenium plays an important role in muscle function, the relation between circulating selenium and muscle strength in elderly adults has not been characterized. Objective: The objective was to examine the hypothesis that low plasma selenium is associated with poor muscle strength in older adults. Design: We measured plasma selenium and hip, grip, and knee strength in a cross-sectional study of 891 men and women aged >= 65 y from the Invecchiare in Chianti (InCHIANTI) Study, a population-based cohort study in Tuscany (Italy). Poor muscle strength was defined as the lowest quartile of hip flexion, grip, and knee extension strength. Results: Overall, mean ( SD) plasma selenium was 0.95 +/- 0.15 mu mol/L. After adjustment for age, sex, education, total energy intake, body mass index, and chronic disease, participants in the lowest versus the highest quartile of plasma selenium were at higher risk of poor hip strength [odds ratio (OR): 1.69; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.83; P = 0.04, P for linear trend = 0.04], knee strength (OR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1. 18, 3.19; P = 0.009, P for linear trend = 0.01), and grip strength (OR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1. 19, 3.16; P = 0.008, P for linear trend = 0.08). Conclusions: Low plasma selenium is independently associated with poor skeletal muscle strength in community-dwelling older adults in Tuscany
Low serum vitamin D does not predict new disability and loss in muscle strength in elderly women
No full textOBJECTIVES: To determine whether serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) predict accelerated decline in muscular strength or onset of new disability in mobility and upper extremity functioning over a 3-year follow-up. DESIGN: A community-based prospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred twenty-eight moderately to severely disabled women aged 65 and older living in the community. MEASUREMENTS: Subjects were divided into three groups of baseline 25(OH)D serum levels (deficiency: or =53 nmol/L) and into tertiles of PTH levels. Objective performance measures (hip flexor, knee extensor, and grip strengths; walking speed; and time for repeated chair stands) and disability in activities involving mobility and upper extremity function were assessed at baseline and every 6 months for 3 years. Decline in performance measures and onset of new disability were compared between 25(OH)D and PTH groups using random effects models and proportional hazards models, respectively, while adjusting for age, race, education, body mass index, baseline performance, and chronic conditions. RESULTS: The annual rate of decline over 3 years in muscular strength, walking speed, and time to perform repeated chair stands was similar across 25(OH)D groups. We observed a nonsignificantly faster decline in proximal muscle strength and walking speed with increasing PTH levels. There was no association for either measure between serum levels and the risk of incident disability in activities relating to mobility and upper extremity function. CONCLUSION: This study does not support the hypothesis that vitamin D deficiency is associated with loss in muscular strength and decline in mobility and upper extremity functioning over time in older women who were moderately to severely disabled at baseline
Low total plasma carotenoids are independent predictors of mortality among older persons - The InCHIANTI study
No full textBackground Plasma carotenoids are considered a valid biological marker for fruit and vegetable dietary intake. Recent studies show that low carotenoid levels are associated with a high risk of inflammation, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Aim of the study To determine whether low plasma carotenoids are associated with increased mortality among older adults. Methods Longitudinal study among 1,043 adults, 65 years and older, in the InCHIANTI study, a population-based cohort of adults living in the community in the Tuscany region, Italy. Results Mean total carotenoid concentration was 1.80 mu mol/l. During eight years of follow-up, 310 (29.7%) of participants died. Eight-year survival was lower in the lowest compared with the highest tertile of total serum carotenoids (P < 0.0001 by Mantel-Haenszel chi-square). In a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for age, education, smoking, body mass index, energy intake, and chronic diseases, adults in the highest tertile of plasma carotenoids at enrollment had lower mortality compared to those in the lowest tertile (Hazards Ratio obtained by considering carotenoids level as an ordinal variable 0.81, 95%; CI 0.65-0.99; P for trend = 0.046). Conclusions Low plasma carotenoids are an independent risk factor for mortality among older adults living in the community
Low plasma carotenoids and skeletal muscle strength decline over 6 years
No full textBackground. Higher intake of fruits and vegetables appears to protect against inflammation, poor physical performance, and disability, but its relationship with muscle strength is unclear. We examined the association between total plasma carotenoids, an indicator of fruit and vegetable intake, and changes in muscle strength over a 6-year follow-up in the participants aged 65 years and older in the InCHIANTI study, a population-based study in Tuscany, Italy. Methods. Plasma carotenoids were measured at enrollment (1998-2000). Hip, knee, and grip strength were measured at enrollment and 6 years later (2004-2006) in 628 of the 948 participants evaluated at baseline. Poor muscle strength was defined as the lowest sex-specific quartile of hip, knee, and grip strength at enrollment. The main outcome was poor muscle strength at the 6-year follow-up visit among those participants originally in the upper three quartiles of strength at enrollment. Results. Overall, 24.9% (110/441), 25.0% (111/444), and 24.9% (118/474) participants developed poor hip, knee, and grip strength, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants in the lowest versus the highest quartile of total plasma carotenoids at enrollment were at higher risk of developing poor hip (odds ratio [OR] = 3.01, 95% CI, 1.43-6.31, p =.004), knee (OR = 2.89, 95% CI, 1.38-6.02, p =.005), and grip (OR=1.88, 95% CI, 0.93-3.56, p =.07) muscle strength at the 6-year follow-up visit. Conclusion. These findings suggest that older community-dwelling adults with lower plasma carotenoids levels, a marker of poor fruit and vegetable intake, are at a higher risk of decline in skeletal muscle strength over time
Unexplained anaemia in older persons is characterised by low erythropoietin and low levels of pro-inflammatory markers
No full textEpidemiological studies report that a third of the cases of anaemia in older persons is unexplained. We compared erythropoietin (EPO), inflammatory markers and major comorbidities between older subjects with normal haemoglobin levels and those with different aetiologic forms of anaemia, including unexplained anaemia. Participants were a representative sample of 964 persons aged >= 65 years, with no evidence of bleeding, complete blood tests, and a complete blood count within 6 h of phlebotomy. Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin < 130 g/l in men and 120 g/l in women, and classified as a result of chronic kidney disease, iron deficiency, chronic disease and B12/folate deficiency anaemia, or unexplained anaemia based on standard criteria. Of the 124 anaemic participants, 42 (36.8%) had unexplained anaemia. Participants with anaemia of chronic diseases had significantly higher interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, while those with unexplained anaemia had significantly lower CRP than non-anaemic controls. Iron deficiency anaemia was characterised by significantly higher EPO levels compared with other types of anaemia and normal haemoglobin, B12 and/or folate deficiency. Unexplained anaemia was characterised by unexpectedly low EPO and low lymphocyte count. Unexplained anaemia is associated with reduced kidney EPO response, low levels of pro-inflammatory markers and low lymphocyte counts
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