Importance: It is uncertain whether unrecognized myocardial infarction (MI) is a risk factor for cerebral infarction.
Objective: To determine whether unrecognized MI detected by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is associated with cerebral infarction.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This is a cross-sectional study of ICELAND MI, a cohort substudy of the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study conducted in Iceland.
Frailty is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD), but the studies available have not considered the presence of subclinical atherosclerotic disease as potential confounders. We investigated the association between frailty and the onset of CVD independently of subclinical atherosclerotic disease. For this reason, a sample of 3818 older participants participating in the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study without CVD at baseline was followed for a median of 8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Few studies have compared the risk of recurrent falls across various antidepressant agents-using detailed dosage and duration data-among community-dwelling older adults, including those who have a history of a fall/fracture.
Objective: To examine the association of antidepressant use with recurrent falls, including among those with a history of falls/fractures, in community-dwelling elders.
Methods: This was a longitudinal analysis of 2948 participants with data collected via interview at year 1 from the Health, Aging and Body Composition study and followed through year 7 (1997-2004).
Background: Age is the foremost risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF), and AF has a rising prevalence in older adults. How AF may contribute to decline in physical performance in older adults has had limited investigation. We examined the associations of incident AF and 4-year interval declines in physical performance at ages 70, 74, 78, and 82 years in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Obesity is a well-recognized risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF), yet adiposity measures other than body mass index (BMI) have had limited assessment in relation to AF risk. We examined the associations of adiposity measures with AF in a biracial cohort of older adults. Given established racial differences in obesity and AF, we assessed for differences by black and white race in relating adiposity and AF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: The spatial distribution of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), which are asymptomatic precursors of intracerebral hemorrhage, reflects specific underlying microvascular abnormalities of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (lobar structures) and hypertensive vasculopathy (deep brain structures). Relatively little is known about the occurrence of and modifiable risk factors for developing CMBs, especially in a lobar location, in the general population of older people.
Objective: To investigate whether lifestyle and lipid factors predict new CMBs in relation to their anatomic location.
Objective: The vascular depression hypothesis postulates that cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) leads to depressive symptoms by disruption of brain structures involved in mood regulation. However, longitudinal data on the association between CSVD and depressive symptoms are scarce. The authors investigated the association between CSVD and incident depressive symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aims of this study were to evaluate and contrast the physical attributes that are associated with self-reported vs. observed ability to walk 400 m among older adults.
Design: Analysis of baseline and 3-yr data from 1026 participants 65 yrs or older in the InCHIANTI (Invecchiare in Chianti) study was conducted.
Objective: Diabetes among older adults causes many complications, including decreased lower-extremity function and physical disability. Diabetes can cause peripheral nerve dysfunction, which might be one pathway through which diabetes leads to decreased physical function. The study aims were to determine the following: (1) whether diabetes and impaired fasting glucose are associated with objective measures of physical function in older adults, (2) which peripheral nerve function (PNF) tests are associated with diabetes, and (3) whether PNF mediates the diabetes-physical function relationship.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The electrocardiographic PR interval increases with aging, differs by race, and is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), pacemaker implantation, and all-cause mortality. We sought to determine the associations between PR interval and heart failure, AF, and mortality in a biracial cohort of older adults.
Methods And Results: The Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study is a prospective, biracial cohort.
Background: To our knowledge, no prospective study has examined the association between vitamin D and cognitive decline or dementia.
Methods: We determined whether low levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) were associated with an increased risk of substantial cognitive decline in the InCHIANTI population-based study conducted in Italy between 1998 and 2006 with follow-up assessments every 3 years. A total of 858 adults 65 years or older completed interviews, cognitive assessments, and medical examinations and provided blood samples.
Objective: To assess whether markers of micro- and macrostructural brain abnormalities are associated with slower gait in older men and women independent of each other, and also independent of health-related conditions and of behavioral, cognitive and peripheral function.
Methods: Magnetization transfer ratio [MTR], white matter hyperintensities [WMH], brain atrophy [BA] and brain infarcts [BI] were measured in 795 participants of the AGES-Reykjavik Study cohort (mean 75.6 years, 58.
Objectives: To describe a set of complex walking tasks (CWTs) that can be used to evaluate mobility and to characterize age- and sex-specific performance on these tests.
Design: A population-based study of persons living in the Chianti geographic area (Tuscany, Italy).
Setting: Community.
Background: The ACT was a clinical trial of various patient education and counseling interventions to increase physical activity in sedentary primary care populations. It provided the opportunity to measure the effect of increasing physical activity on aortic pulse wave velocity (APWV), a measure of vascular stiffness, in a relatively healthy middle-aged population. The effects of the interventions, as well as the impact of walking and correlates such as older age and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), on APWV were assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF