Physical and Biological Indicators of Health and Functioning in U.S. Oldest Old

Abstract

This chapter examines biomarkers of aging, including indicators of physical performance and biomarkers of physiological dysregulation, among a representative national sample of U.S. adults aged 80 years and older with the aim of addressing three questions about the oldest old U.S. population: (a) How do levels of biomarkers of aging vary by age? (b) Are biomarkers of aging patterned by gender, race, ethnicity, and education? and (c) Which biomarkers of aging predict health and mortality. Data for this study come from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). This large population-based study of U.S. adults aged 80 years and older provides confirmation of the importance of biomarkers of aging for understanding health and longevity in the oldest old. The results indicate that physical functioning declines across age groups even among the oldest old, and that the oldest adults are more likely to have levels of physical performance, inflammation, and organ function that are considered to be high risk for poor health outcomes. In addition, social disparities in physical functioning continue to be evident among the oldest segment of the U.S. population. We also provide evidence for the value of several biomarkers of aging in predicting poor health outcomes among the oldest old. In particular, indicators of high risk for walking dysfunction and dysregulation in the lungs and kidneys were found to predict hospitalization and short-term mortality. ANNUAL REVIEW OF GERONTOLOGY AND GERIATRICS

Get a grip: individual variations in grip strength are a marker of brain health

“…As a first step in appreciating the basis upon which changes in grip strength constitute an objective marker of frailty, it is instructive to consider circumstances in which the predictive power of the measure is not readily attributable to variations in muscle structure and function. It is now well established that grip strength as assessed during middle age (Rantanen et al, 2000), later life (De Buyser et al, 2013;Laukkanen et al, 1995;Nofuji et al, 2016;Rolland et al, 2006;Snih et al, 2002;Steiber, 2016;Strand Grip Strength 7 et al, 2016), and in the oldest old (Ailshire and Crimmins, 2013;Cesari et al, 2008;Ling et al, 2010) is strongly associated with long-term survival (following adjustment for such factors as age and gait speed). It is conspicuous that the relationship between grip strength and mortality ( Figure 2) is present in young (mean/median age <60 years) cohorts (Leong et al, 2015;see Cooper et al, 2010) for a review), and remains robust at long term follow up (e.g.…”

Hour glass half full or half empty? Future time perspective and preoccupation with negative events across the life span.

“…Older age is associated with worse health (e.g., Ailshire & Crimmins, 2013) and reporting worse subjective health (Liang et al, 2010; Pinquart, 2001). Poorer subjective health relates to perceiving limited future time (Kooij & van de Voorde, 2011), whereas better subjective health relates to having a more expansive time perspective (Bal et al, 2010; Kooij & van de Voorde, 2011; Windsor et al, 2012).…”

Etiology of Individual Differences in Human Health and Longevity

“…A recent review of biomarkers assessed in the Health and Retirement Study verifi es that measures of physical function including walking speed and grip strength are associated with longevity (Ailshire & Crimmins, 2013). In fact, physical function (including grip strength) has been shown to predict longevity even when age, BMI, smoking status, education, physical activity, and cognitive status are taken into account (De Buyser et al, 2013).…”

“…Correlations between the two types of measures tend to be signifi cant but modest, ranging from .30 to .54 (Ernsth-Bravel, Zarit, Johansson, 2011), and evidence suggests that self-reported ADL can refl ect affect and personality as well as functional ability (Jagger et al, 2010;Kempen, Steverink, Ormel, & Deeg, 1996). Both ADL and function ability have been shown to predict longevity (Ailshire & Crimmins, 2013;Stineman et al, 2012;Taekema, Gussekloo, Westendorp, de Craen, & Maier, 2012;Tiainen, Luukkaala, Hervonen, & Jylha, 2013); moreover, slower rates of change over time in measures of functional performance predict longer survival (Hirsch, Buzkova, Robbins, Patel, & Newman, 2012;White et al, 2013). Behavior genetic investigations of functional ability have produced mixed results (Christensen, Frederiksen, Vaupel, & McGue, 2003;Finkel et al, 2000;Finkel et al, 2003;Finkel, Reynolds, Emery, & Pedersen, 2013).…”