@article {13137, title = {Centrally Acting ACE Inhibitor Use and Physical Performance in Older Adults.}, journal = {J Frailty Aging}, volume = {12}, year = {2023}, month = {2023}, pages = {103-108}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: There is conflicting evidence regarding the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and physical function. While some studies show improvements in muscle strength and physical function, others show no significant difference or decreased performance. This ambiguity could be due to differential effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor subtypes which can be categorized as centrally or peripherally-acting based upon their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to compare physical performance measures among angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor subtype users.

METHODS: Design: Cross-sectional Setting: Ambulatory Participants: Performed in 364 participants in the Health and Retirement Study cohort who were >= 65 years (median age (IQR) 74.00 (69-80) years.

MEASUREMENTS: Average difference in hand grip (kg), gait speed(m/s) and peak expiratory flow (L/min).

RESULTS: Compared to participants on a peripherally-acting angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (113 (31\%)), those on a centrally-acting agent (251(69\%)) had stronger grip strength 28.9 {\textpm}1.0 vs 26.3{\textpm}1.0, p=.011 and higher peak expiratory flow rates 316.8{\textpm}130.4 vs. 280.0{\textpm}118.5, p= .011 in unadjusted analysis. After multiple adjustments the difference in PEF remained statistically significant (Estimate(CI) 26.5, 95\% CI 2.24, 50.5, p = 0.032).

CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that in older adults the use of centrally-acting angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors compared to a peripherally acting angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors was associated with better lung function in older individuals.

}, keywords = {Aged, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors, Cross-Sectional Studies, Hand Strength, Humans, Muscle Strength, Physical Functional Performance}, issn = {2260-1341}, doi = {10.14283/jfa.2023.10}, author = {George, C J and Hall, C B and Weiss, E F and Verghese, J and Neptune, E and Abadir, P} } @article {12577, title = {Thresholds for clinical practice that directly link handgrip strength to remaining years of life: estimates based on longitudinal observational data.}, journal = {BMJ Open}, volume = {12}, year = {2022}, pages = {e058489}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: Muscle strength is a powerful predictor of mortality that can quickly and inexpensively be assessed by measuring handgrip strength (HGS). What is missing for clinical practice, however, are empirically meaningful cut-off points that apply to the general population and that consider the correlation of HGS with gender and body height as well as the decline in HGS during processes of ageing. This study provides standardised thresholds that directly link HGS to remaining life expectancy (RLE), thus enabling practitioners to detect patients with an increased mortality risk early on.

DESIGN: Relying on representative observational data from the Health and Retirement Study, the HGS of survey participants was z-standardised by gender, age and body height. We defined six HGS groups based on cut-off points in SD; we use these as predictors in survival analyses with a 9-year follow-up and provide RLE by gender based on a Gompertz model for each HGS group.

PARTICIPANTS: 8156 US American women and men aged 50-80 years.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Z-standardised HGS and all-cause mortality.

RESULTS: Even slight negative deviations in HGS from the reference group with [0.0 SD, 0.5 SD) have substantial effects on survival. RLE among individuals aged 60 years with standardised HGS of [-0.5 SD, 0.0 SD) is 3.0/1.4 years lower for men/women than for the reference group, increasing to a difference of 4.1/2.6 years in the group with HGS of [-1.0 SD, -0.5 SD). By contrast, we find no benefit of strong HGS related to survival.

CONCLUSIONS: HGS varies substantially with gender, age and body height. This confirms the importance of considering these heterogeneities when defining reference groups and risk thresholds. Moreover, survival appears to decrease at much higher levels of muscle strength than is assumed in previous literature, suggesting that medical practitioners should start to become concerned when HGS is slightly below that of the reference group.

}, keywords = {Body Height, Cross-Sectional Studies, Hand Strength, Muscle Strength}, issn = {2044-6055}, doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058489}, author = {Scherbov, Sergei and Spitzer, Sonja and Steiber, Nadia} } @article {13027, title = {WHICH NEIGHBORHOOD FEATURES MATTER MOST FOR MUSCLE STRENGTH? FINDINGS FROM THE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY}, journal = {Innovation in Aging}, volume = {6}, year = {2022}, pages = {254{\textendash}255}, abstract = {Linking data from the National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA) to the 2006-2018 Health and Retirement Study (N=22,245), we fit linear mixed models to assess which of 22 built and social neighborhood environment variables predicted grip strength, a measure of total-body muscle strength. Among 22,245 respondents (mean age=63 years, SD=9.2) with up to 4 grip strength measures, neighborhood physical disorder (B= -0.25 kg, 95\% CI= -0.37,-0.13), number of parks (B= 0.05 kg, 95\% CI= 0.01, 0.10), number of gyms/fitness centers (B=-0.44 kg, 95\% CI= -0.82, -0.07), proportion of highly developed land (B=-2.06 kg, 95\% CI=-4.06, -0.07), and \% urban (B=-0.66 kg, 95\% CI=-1.27, -0.05) were associated with grip strength level after adjustment. No social neighborhood variables were associated with grip strength. Although preliminary, findings suggest that highly developed urbanized land may be a barrier to maintaining muscle strength in later life, but resources such as parks are associated with better outcomes.}, keywords = {Grip strength, Muscle Strength, Neighborhood characteristics}, doi = {10.1093/geroni/igac059.1010}, author = {Kate A Duchowny and L Grisell Diaz-Ramirez and W John Boscardin and Peggy Cawthon and Maria Glymour and Scarlett Lin Gomez} } @article {MCGRATH2020, title = {Handgrip Strength Asymmetry and Weakness May Accelerate Time to Mortality in Aging Americans}, journal = {Journal of the American Medical Directors Association}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Objectives Assessing handgrip strength (HGS) asymmetry may provide insights into HGS as a prognostic assessment of strength capacity and vitality. This study sought to determine the associations of HGS asymmetry and weakness on time to mortality in aging Americans. Design Longitudinal panel. Setting Secondary analyses of data from participants aged >=50 years from the 2006-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Participants The analytic sample included 19,325 Americans who identified hand dominance and had measures of HGS for both hands in a single wave. Measures A handgrip dynamometer was used to measure HGS. Men and women who were considered weak had HGS <26 kg and <16 kg, respectively. The highest HGS values from the dominant and nondominant hands were used to calculate HGS ratio: (nondominant HGS/dominant HGS). Those with HGS ratio <0.90 or >1.10 had any HGS asymmetry. Moreover, participants with HGS ratio <0.90 had dominant HGS asymmetry, whereas those with HGS ratio >1.10 had nondominant HGS asymmetry. The National Death Index and postmortem interviews verified date of death. Covariate-adjusted Cox models were used for analyses. Results Those with any HGS asymmetry had a 1.10 [95\% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.17] higher hazard for mortality, while those with weakness had a 1.44 (CI 1.32-1.58) higher hazard for mortality. Likewise, participants with dominant HGS asymmetry had a 1.11 (CI 1.03-1.18) higher hazard for mortality, and those with weakness had a 1.45 (CI 1.32-1.58) higher hazard for mortality; however, the association was not significant for those with nondominant HGS asymmetry (hazard ratio: 1.07; CI 0.96-1.18). Conclusions and Implications HGS asymmetry and weakness are markers of impaired strength capacity that independently accelerate time to mortality, but the magnitude of these associations was more prominent for weakness. Nevertheless, assessments of asymmetric HGS are a simple adjunct analysis that may show promise for increasing the prognostic value of handgrip dynamometers.}, keywords = {Death, Frailty, Geriatric Assessment, Muscle Strength, muscle strength dynamometer}, issn = {1525-8610}, doi = {10.1016/j.jamda.2020.04.030}, author = {Ryan P McGrath and Grant R Tomkinson and Dain P. LaRoche and Brenda Vincent and Colin W. Bond and Kyle J Hackney} } @article {11366, title = {Relationship between smoking status and muscle strength in the United States older adults.}, journal = {Epidemiology and Health}, volume = {42}, year = {2020}, pages = {e2020055}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: Muscle strength in older adults is associated with greater physical ability. Identifying interventions to maintain muscle strength can therefore improve quality of life. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether current or former smoking status is associated with a decrease in muscle strength in older adults.

METHODS: Data from the Health and Retirement Study from 2012-2014 were analyzed with regard to maximum dominant hand grip strength, maximum overall hand grip strength, and smoking status (current, former, or never). Unadjusted linear regression was conducted. Other factors known to be related to strength were included in the adjusted linear regression analyses.

RESULTS: For maximum grip strength, the regression coefficient was 4.91 for current smoking (standard error [SE], 0.58; p<0.001), 3.58 for former smoking (SE, 0.43; p<0.001), and 28.12 for never smoking (SE, 0.34). Fully adjusted linear regression on the relationship between dominant hand grip strength and smoking did not yield a significant result. The factors significantly associated with dominant hand grip strength were male sex, younger age, a race/ethnicity of non-Hispanic White or non-Hispanic Black, higher income, morbidity of <=1 condition, no pain, and moderate or vigorous exercise more than once a week.

CONCLUSIONS: Muscle strength in older adults was not associated with smoking status in the adjusted analysis.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Hand Strength, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Muscle Strength, Smoking, United States}, issn = {2092-7193}, doi = {10.4178/epih.e2020055}, author = {Wiener, R Constance and Findley, Patricia A and Shen, Chan and Dwibedi, Nilanjana and Sambamoorthi, Usha} } @article {10445, title = {CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE, MUSCLE WEAKNESS, AND MOBILITY LIMITATION}, journal = {Innovation in Aging}, volume = {3}, year = {2019}, month = {2019/11/08}, pages = {S523 - S523}, abstract = {Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased mobility limitation. Prior research has documented that peripheral nerve abnormalities occur early in CKD and progressively worsen. Loss of balance, impaired muscle strength, and slow gait predispose older adults to falls and frailty. However, the current literature is limited by a lack of nationally representative data that includes objective measures of kidney disease and physical functioning. Thus, this research examines whether CKD is associated with muscle strength, balance, gait, and self-reported mobility limitations. Methods: Data come from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Estimated GFR, a measure of kidney functioning derived from creatinine levels in the blood, was used to classify CKD (i.e, eGFR<45 or Stage 3b CKD). Logistic and linear regression models were generated to examine the association of CKD with physical functioning, net of demographic characteristics (i.e., age, sex, race, and education) and comorbidities (i.e., obesity, pain, and number of diagnosed medical conditions). Results: In unadjusted models, CKD was significantly associated (p<0.05) with more mobility limitations, slower walking speeds, stronger grip strengths, and non-participation in balance tests. After adjusting for covariates, CKD (β=-1.43, p=0.01) was negatively associated with grip strength. In sex-stratified models, CKD was associated with slower walking speeds among men, whereas CKD was associated with more mobility limitations among women. Discussion: In a nationally representative sample of older adults, CKD was associated with poorer physical functioning on multiple measures. After adjusting for demographic characteristics and comorbidities, CKD was associated with increased muscle weakness.}, keywords = {Chronic disease, chronic kidney disease, Kidney disease, mobility, Mobility Limitation, Muscle Strength, Muscle Weakness}, isbn = {2399-5300}, url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6841557/}, author = {Kenzie Latham-Mintus and Doshi, Simit and Ranjani N Moorthi} } @article {MCGRATH2019, title = {The Longitudinal Associations of Handgrip Strength and Cognitive Function in Aging Americans}, journal = {Journal of the American Medical Directors Association}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Objectives Factors that are responsible for age-related neurologic deterioration of noncognitive and cognitive processes may have a shared cause. We sought to examine the temporal, directional associations of handgrip strength and cognitive function in a national sample of aging Americans. Design Longitudinal panel. Setting Enhanced interviews that included physical, biological, and psychosocial measures were completed in person. Core interviews were often conducted over the telephone. Participants The analytic sample included 14,775 Americans aged at least 50 years who participated in at least 2 waves of the 2006-2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Measures Handgrip strength was measured with a hand-held dynamometer. Participants were considered cognitively intact, mildly impaired, or severely impaired according to the Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status questionnaire. Separate lagged general estimating equations analyzed the directional associations of handgrip strength and cognitive function. Results The overall time to follow-up was 2.1 {\textpm} 0.4 years. Every 5 kg higher handgrip strength was associated with 0.97 [95\% confidence interval (CI) 0.93, 0.99] lower odds for both future cognitive impairment and worse cognitive impairment. Those who were not weak had 0.54 (CI 0.43, 0.69) lower odds for future cognitive impairment and 0.57 (CI 0.46, 0.72) lower odds for future worse cognitive impairment. Conversely, any (β = -1.09; CI {\textendash}1.54, -0.64), mild (β = -0.85; CI {\textendash}1.34, -0.36), and severe cognitive impairment (β = -2.34; CI {\textendash}3.25, -1.42) predicted decreased handgrip strength. Further, the presence of any, mild, and severe cognitive impairment was associated with 1.82 (CI 1.48, 2.24), 1.65 (CI 1.31, 2.08), and 2.53 (CI 1.74, 3.67) greater odds for future weakness, respectively. Conclusions/Implications Strength capacity and cognitive function may parallel each other, whereby losses of functioning in 1 factor may forecast losses of functioning in the other. Handgrip strength could be used for assessing cognitive status in aging Americans and strength capacity should be monitored in those with cognitive impairment.}, keywords = {Alzheimer{\textquoteright}s disease, Dementia, Geriatrics, Muscle Strength, Muscle Weakness, sarcopenia}, issn = {1525-8610}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2019.08.032}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1525861019306498}, author = {Ryan P McGrath and Brenda Vincent and Kyle J Hackney and Sheria G Robinson-Lane and Brian Downer and Brian C Clark} } @article {MCGRATH2019, title = {Weakness May Have a Causal Association With Early Mortality in Older Americans: A Matched Cohort Analysis}, journal = {Journal of the American Medical Directors Association}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Objectives Quantifying the association between muscle weakness and mortality with carefully matched cohorts will help to better establish the impact of weakness on premature death. We used a matched cohort analysis in a national sample of older Americans to determine if those who were weak had a higher risk for mortality compared with control groups with incrementally higher strength capacities. Design Longitudinal panel. Setting Detailed interviews that included physical measures were conducted in person, whereas core interviews were often performed over the telephone. Participants Data from 19,729 Americans aged at least 50 years from the 2006-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study were analyzed. Measures A handgrip dynamometer was used to assess handgrip strength (HGS) in each participant. Men with HGS <26 kg were considered weak, >=26 kg were considered not weak, and >=32 kg were considered strong. Women with HGS <16 kg were classified as weak, >=16 kg were classified as not-weak, and >=20 kg were classified as strong. The National Death Index and postmortem interviews determined the date of death. The greedy matching algorithm was used to match cohorts. Results Of the 1077 weak and not-weak matched pairs, 401 weak (37.2\%) and 296 not-weak (27.4\%) older Americans died over an average 4.4 {\textpm} 2.5-year follow-up. There were 392 weak (37.0\%) and 243 strong (22.9\%) persons who died over a mean 4.5 {\textpm} 2.5-year follow-up from the 1057 weak and strong matched pairs. Those in the weak cohort had a 1.40 [95\% confidence interval (CI) 1.19, 1.64] and 1.54 (CI 1.30, 1.83) higher hazard for mortality relative to persons in the not-weak and strong control cohorts, respectively. Conclusions and Implications Our findings may indicate a causal association between muscle weakness and mortality in older Americans. Health care providers should include measures of HGS as part of routine health assessments and discuss the health risks of muscle weakness with their patients.}, keywords = {Aging, Epidemiology, Geriatrics, Hand Strength, Muscle Strength, sarcopenia}, issn = {1525-8610}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2019.10.016}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S152586101930756X}, author = {Ryan P McGrath and Brenda Vincent and Mark D Peterson and Donald A Jurivich and Lindsey J Dahl and Kyle J Hackney and Brian C Clark} } @article {6494, title = {Associations Between Arthritis and Change in Physical Function in U.S. Retirees.}, journal = {J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci}, volume = {72}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Jan}, pages = {127-133}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to determine among retirees: the associations of arthritis with limitations in physical functions, and whether these associations changed differently with age for those with arthritis versus without arthritis.

METHODS: We identified retirees from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative longitudinal panel study of U.S. adults >=51 years old. We calculated incidence density ratios (IDRs) using Poisson regression modeling with generalized estimating equations to estimate the associations between arthritis and limitations in four physical function measures (large muscle tasks, mobility, activities of daily living, and instrumental activities of daily living) adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, total household income, depression, obesity, smoking, chronic conditions, physical activity, and cohort status. We examined interaction effects between arthritis and age to determine if the rate of change in physical function differed by arthritis status across age.

RESULTS: Over 8 years (2004-2012), significantly more retirees with arthritis had limitations with large muscle tasks (IDR 2.1: 95\% confidence interval 1.6, 2.8), mobility (IDR 1.6: 1.2, 2.2), activities of daily living (IDR 2.2: 1.0, 4.7), and instrumental activities of daily living (IDR 3.7: 1.9, 7.4) than retirees without arthritis. Retirees with arthritis did not develop limitations in mobility, activities of daily living, and instrumental activities of daily living at a different rate as they aged compared to those without arthritis.

CONCLUSIONS: Arthritis was associated with a greater prevalence of physical function limitations. Preventing limitations caused by arthritis is a key strategy to prevent disability in retirees.

}, keywords = {Activities of Daily Living, Age Factors, Aged, Arthritis, Case-Control Studies, Female, Health Status, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Muscle Strength, Retirement, United States}, issn = {1758-535X}, doi = {10.1093/gerona/glw075}, url = {http://biomedgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/04/26/gerona.glw075.abstract}, author = {Nancy A. Baker and Kamil E Barbour and Charles G Helmick and Matthew M. Zack and Soham Al Snih} } @article {8397, title = {Functional status in older women diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse.}, journal = {Am J Obstet Gynecol}, volume = {214}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 May}, pages = {613.e1-7}, publisher = {214}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Functional status plays an important role in the comprehensive characterization of older adults. Functional limitations are associated with an increased risk of adverse treatment outcomes, but there are limited data on the prevalence of functional limitations in older women with pelvic floor disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to describe the prevalence of functional limitations based on health status in older women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP).

STUDY DESIGN: This pooled, cross-sectional study utilized data from the linked Health and Retirement Study and Medicare files from 1992 through 2008. The analysis included 890 women age >=65 years with POP. We assessed self-reported functional status, categorized in strength, upper and lower body mobility, activities of daily living (ADL), and instrumental ADL (IADL) domains. Functional limitations were evaluated and stratified by respondents self-reported general health status. Descriptive statistics were used to compare categorical and continuous variables, and logistic regression was used to measure differences in the odds of functional limitation by increasing age.

RESULTS: The prevalence of functional limitations was 76.2\% in strength, 44.9\% in upper and 65.8\% in lower body mobility, 4.5\% in ADL, and 13.6\% in IADL. Limitations were more prevalent in women with poor or fair health status than in women with good health status, including 91.5\% vs 69.9\% in strength, 72.9\% vs 33.5\% in upper and 88.0\% vs 56.8\% in lower body mobility, 11.6\% vs 0.9\% in ADL, and 30.6\% vs 6.7\% in IADL; all P < .01. The odds of all functional limitations also increased significantly with advancing age.

CONCLUSION: Functional limitations, especially in strength and body mobility domains, are highly prevalent in older women with POP, particularly in those with poor or fair self-reported health status. Future research is necessary to evaluate if functional status affects clinical outcomes in pelvic reconstructive and gynecologic surgery and whether it should be routinely assessed in clinical decision-making when treating older women with POP.

}, keywords = {Activities of Daily Living, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Health Status, Health Surveys, Humans, Medicare, Middle Aged, Mobility Limitation, Muscle Strength, Pelvic Organ Prolapse, United States, Upper Extremity}, issn = {1097-6868}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajog.2015.11.038}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002937815024783}, author = {Tatiana V D Sanses and Nicholas K Schiltz and Bruna M. Couri and Sangeeta T Mahajan and Holly E Richter and David F Warner and Jack M. Guralnik and Siran M Koroukian} } @article {8614, title = {GWAS analysis of handgrip and lower body strength in older adults in the CHARGE consortium.}, journal = {Aging Cell}, volume = {15}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 10}, pages = {792-800}, abstract = {

Decline in muscle strength with aging is an important predictor of health trajectory in the elderly. Several factors, including genetics, are proposed contributors to variability in muscle strength. To identify genetic contributors to muscle strength, a meta-analysis of genomewide association studies of handgrip was conducted. Grip strength was measured using a handheld dynamometer in 27~581 individuals of European descent over 65~years of age from 14 cohort studies. Genomewide association analysis was conducted on ~2.7 million imputed and genotyped variants (SNPs). Replication of the most significant findings was conducted using data from 6393 individuals from three cohorts. GWAS of lower body strength was also characterized in a subset of cohorts. Two genomewide significant (P-value< 5~{\texttimes}~10(-8) ) and 39 suggestive (P-value< 5~{\texttimes}~10(-5) ) associations were observed from meta-analysis of the discovery cohorts. After meta-analysis with replication cohorts, genomewide significant association was observed for rs752045 on chromosome 8 (β~=~0.47, SE~=~0.08, P-value~=~5.20~{\texttimes}~10(-10) ). This SNP is mapped to an intergenic region and is located within an accessible chromatin region (DNase hypersensitivity site) in skeletal muscle myotubes differentiated from the human skeletal muscle myoblasts cell line. This locus alters a binding motif of the CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-β (CEBPB) that is implicated in muscle repair mechanisms. GWAS of lower body strength did not yield significant results. A common genetic variant in a chromosomal region that regulates myotube differentiation and muscle repair may contribute to variability in grip strength in the elderly. Further studies are needed to uncover the mechanisms that link this genetic variant with muscle strength.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation, Cohort Studies, Epigenesis, Genetic, Genome-Wide Association Study, Hand Strength, Humans, Molecular Sequence Annotation, Muscle Strength, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Quantitative Trait Loci, Reproducibility of Results}, issn = {1474-9726}, doi = {10.1111/acel.12468}, author = {Amy M Matteini and Toshiko Tanaka and Karasik, David and Atzmon, Gil and Chou, Wen-Chi and John D Eicher and Andrew D Johnson and Alice M. Arnold and Michele L Callisaya and Gail Davies and Daniel S Evans and Holtfreter, Birte and Kurt Lohman and Kathryn L Lunetta and Mangino, Massimo and Albert Vernon Smith and Jennifer A Smith and Teumer, Alexander and Lei Yu and Dan E Arking and Aron S Buchman and Chibinik, Lori B and Philip L de Jager and Jessica Faul and Melissa E Garcia and Gillham-Nasenya, Irina and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Hofman, Albert and Hsu, Yi-Hsiang and Ittermann, Till and Lahousse, Lies and David C Liewald and Yongmei Liu and Lopez, Lorna and Fernando Rivadeneira and Rotter, Jerome I and Siggeirsdottir, Kristin and John M Starr and Thomson, Russell and Tranah, Gregory J and Andr{\'e} G Uitterlinden and V{\"o}lker, Uwe and V{\"o}lzke, Henry and David R Weir and Kristine Yaffe and Wei Zhao and Wei Vivian Zhuang and Zmuda, Joseph M and David A Bennett and Steven R Cummings and Ian J Deary and Luigi Ferrucci and Tamara B Harris and Sharon L R Kardia and Kocher, Thomas and Stephen B Kritchevsky and Psaty, Bruce M and Seshadri, Sudha and Timothy Spector and Velandai K Srikanth and Beverly G Windham and Zillikens, M Carola and Anne B Newman and Jeremy D Walston and Douglas P Kiel and Joanne M Murabito} } @article {8308, title = {How old do you feel? The role of age discrimination and biological aging in subjective age.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {10}, year = {2015}, note = {Times Cited: 0 0}, month = {2015}, pages = {e0119293}, publisher = {10}, abstract = {

Subjective age, or how young or old individuals experience themselves to be relative to their chronological age, is a crucial construct in gerontology. Subjective age is a significant predictor of important health outcomes, but little is known about the criteria by which individuals{\textquoteright} subjectively evaluate their age. To identify psychosocial and biomedical factors linked to the subjective evaluation of age, this study examined whether perceived age discrimination and markers of biological aging are associated with subjective age. Participants were 4776 adults (Mage = 68) from the 2008 and 2010 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) who completed measures of subjective age, age discrimination, demographic variables, self-rated health and depression, and had physical health measures, including peak expiratory flow, grip strength, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Telomere length was available for a subset of participants in the 2008 wave (n = 2214). Regression analysis indicated that perceived age discrimination, lower peak expiratory flow, lower grip strength, and higher waist circumference were associated with an older subjective age, controlling for sociodemographic factors, self-rated health, and depression. In contrast, blood pressure and telomere length were not related to subjective age. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that how old a person feels depends in part on psychosocial and biomedical factors, including the experiences of ageism and perceptible indices of fitness and biological age.

}, keywords = {Aerobiosis, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena, Cellular Senescence, Discrimination, Psychological, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Muscle Strength, Perception}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0119293}, author = {Yannick Stephan and Angelina R Sutin and Antonio Terracciano} }