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Aim: Slow gait speed has been associated with mortality, poor physical function and disability in older people. Our aim was to evaluate the association between slow gait speed and rapid cognitive decline among oldest-old men in Taiwan. Methods:We carried out a longitudinal cohort study in a veterans' retirement community, and enrolled 249 male residents aged 80 years and older. Slow gait speed was defined as <1 m/s, and rapid cognitive decline was defined as a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) decline of ≥3 points over 1 year. Body mass index, Charlson's Comorbidity Index, handgrip strength, gait speed and Mini-Mental State Examination datasets were collected, and a logistic regression model was built to evaluate the association between fast cognitive decline and slow gait speed.Results: In all, 249 residents (mean age 86.4 ± 4.01 years) were recruited, including 58 (23.3%) with rapid cognitive decline. Univariate analysis showed that slow gait speed could predict rapid cognitive decline (OR 4.10, 95% CI 1.20-14.00, P = 0.024). After adjusting for age, Charlson's Comorbidity Index, polypharmacy, psychiatric drug usage, cigarette smoking experience, baseline cognitive function, depressive mood, handgrip strength, nutritional status and history of fall, slow gait speed was still independently associated with rapid cognitive decline (adjusted OR 4.58, 95% CI 1.22-17.2, P = 0.024).Conclusions: Slow gait speed was thus an independent predictor of rapid cognitive decline in oldest-old men in a veterans' retirement community in Taiwan.

Background Sarcopenic obesity aims to capture the risk of functional decline and cardiometabolic diseases, but its operational definition and associated clinical outcomes remain unclear. Using data from the Longitudinal Aging Study of Taipei, this study explored the roles of the muscle-to-fat ratio (MFR) with different definitions and its associations with clinical characteristics, functional performance, cardiometabolic risk and outcomes. Methods (1) Appendicular muscle mass divided by total body fat mass (aMFR), (2) total body muscle mass divided by total body fat mass (tMFR) and (3) relative appendicular skeletal muscle mass (RASM) were measured. Each measurement was categorized by the sex-specific lowest quintiles for all study participants. Clinical outcomes included all-cause mortality and fracture. Results Data from 1060 community-dwelling older adults (mean age: 71.0 ± 4.8 years) were retrieved for the study. Overall, 196 (34.2% male participants) participants had low RASM, but none was sarcopenic. Compared with those with high aMFR, participants with low aMFR were older (72 ± 5.6 vs. 70.7 ± 4.6 years, P = 0.005); used more medications (2.9 ± 3.3 vs. 2.1 ± 2.5, P = 0.002); had a higher body fat percentage (38 ± 4.8% vs. 28 ± 6.4%, P < 0.001),

a b s t r a c tDelirium is a common and serious acute neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by inattention and global cognitive dysfunction. The etiologies of delirium are diverse, multifactorial, and often reflect the pathophysiologic consequences of an acute medical illness, medical complication, or drug intoxication. At present, the diagnosis of delirium depends on the presence of certain clinical features. Many recent studies have sought to identify biomarkers for delirium to predict its onset, severity, recovery rate, or prognosis. In this narrative review, we examine six approaches to identify serum biomarkers of delirium: serum chemistry, genes, neurotransmitters, inflammatory factors, serum cortisol levels, and end products of delirium. Moreover, we discuss the limitations of current research and the challenges of serum biomarker studies.