Whole Genome Linkage and Association Analyses Identify DLG Associated Protein-1 as a Novel Positional and Biological Candidate Gene for Muscle Strength: The Long Life Family Study.

Background: Grip strength is a robust indicator of overall health, is moderately heritable, and predicts longevity in older adults.

Methods: Using genome-wide linkage analysis, we identified a novel locus on chromosome 18p (mega-basepair region: 3.4-4.

Skeletal muscle adiposity is a novel risk factor for poor cognition in African Caribbean women.

Objective: Skeletal muscle adiposity (myosteatosis) is recognized as a major risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases, and it increases with aging. The relationship of myosteatosis with cognitive impairment is unknown.

Methods: The association of calf myosteatosis (measured by computed tomography-derived skeletal muscle density; higher values indicate less myosteatosis) with cognitive function was examined among 626 African Caribbean women who were aged 40 to 84 years, a population highly vulnerable to increased myosteatosis.

Replacing sedentary time with light activity was associated with less adiposity across several depots in African ancestry men.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether displacement of sedentary time with activity was cross-sectionally associated with less adiposity among Black Caribbean men in the Tobago Health Study.

Methods: Objectively assessed activity was categorized as sedentary (< 1.5 metabolic equivalents; METs), light (≥ 1.

Thigh and Calf Myosteatosis are Strongly Associated with Muscle and Physical Function in African Caribbean Men.

Background: African Caribbeans have higher levels of myosteatosis than other populations; however, little is known about the impact of myosteatosis on physical function in African Caribbeans. Herein, we examined the association between regional myosteatosis of the calf, thigh, and abdomen versus physical function in 850 African-Ancestry men aged 64.2 ± 8.

Association of physical activity with blood pressure in African ancestry men.

This study tested the association of objectively measured physical activity with blood pressure and hypertension in African Caribbean men, an understudied population segment known to be at high-risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) which has low levels of high-exertion physical activity. Men (N = 310) were from the Tobago Health Study and aged 50-89 years. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressures were measured using an automated device, and hypertension was defined as SBP ≥ 140 mmHg, DBP ≥ 90 mmHg, or current use of antihypertensive medication.

Identification of a Novel Locus for Gait Speed Decline With Aging: The Long Life Family Study.

Background: Gait speed is a powerful indicator of health with aging. Potential genetic contributions to gait speed and its decline with aging are not well defined. We determined the heritability of and potential genetic regions underlying change in gait speed using longitudinal data from 2379 individuals belonging to 509 families in the Long Life Family Study (mean age 64 ± 12, range 30-110 years; 45% men).

Genetic association analysis of the cardiovascular biomarker: N-terminal fragment of pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP).

Background: NT-proBNP is a biomarker of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Little is known about the heritability and genetic variants associated with NT-proBNP. Therefore, we estimated the heritability of and examined genetic associations of SNPs in the BNP gene region with circulating NT-proBNP and prevalent CVD in 4,331 participants from the Long Life Family Study (LLFS).

Short- and Long-Term Reciprocal Bone-Muscle Relationships in the Upper and Lower Extremity of Afro-Caribbean Men by DXA: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Tobago Bone Health Study.

Little is known about the time course of muscle-bone effects and whether a reciprocal clinical effect of bone on muscle is present. We hypothesized that lean mass (LM) measures at the arms and legs have a stronger relationship with BMD measured within the same region than the reciprocal effect. The Tobago Bone Health Study was used to address this hypothesis, examining body composition data from total body DXA scans obtained at 0, 48-, and 120-month visits.

Circulating Procollagen Type III N-Terminal Peptide and Physical Function in Adults from the Long Life Family Study.

Background: Circulating levels of procollagen type III N-terminal peptide (P3NP) may reflect increased fibrosis of skeletal muscle and other tissues with aging. Herein, we tested if P3NP was associated with baseline and 7-year change in physical function.

Method: Participants (n = 400) were from the Long Life Family Study, a study of exceptional familial longevity.

Hepatic and Skeletal Muscle Adiposity Are Associated with Diabetes Independent of Visceral Adiposity in Nonobese African-Caribbean Men.

Adipose tissue (AT) around and within non-AT organs (i.e., ectopic adiposity) is emerging as a strong risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Wnt Pathway Gene Expression Is Associated With Arterial Stiffness.

Background Animal and in vitro experiments implicate the Wnt pathway in cardiac development, fibrosis, vascular calcification, and atherosclerosis, but research in humans is lacking. We examined peripheral blood Wnt pathway gene expression and arterial stiffness in 369 healthy African ancestry men (mean age, 64 years). Methods and Results Gene expression was assessed using a custom Nanostring nCounter gene expression panel (N=43 genes) and normalized to housekeeping genes and background signal.

Sarcopenia Characteristics Are Associated with Incident Mobility Limitations in African Caribbean Men: The Tobago Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Background: Sarcopenia varies by ethnicity, and has a major impact on health in older adults. However, little is known about sarcopenia characteristics in African ancestry populations outside the United States. We examined sarcopenia characteristics in 2,142 African Caribbean men aged 59.

Wnt Pathway Inhibitor DKK1: A Potential Novel Biomarker for Adiposity.

Emerging evidence indicates that ectopic skeletal muscle adiposity may be a risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D), especially in persons of African ancestry. studies suggest that a Wnt pathway inhibitor, Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK1), plays a role in adiposity regulation and could be a biomarker for adiposity in humans. The objective of this study was to test whether serum DKK1 levels relate to adiposity measures in a cohort from an African ancestry population at high risk for T2D.

Rates of and risk factors for trabecular and cortical BMD loss in middle-aged and elderly African-ancestry men.

Low trabecular (Tb) and cortical (Ct) volumetric BMD (vBMD) are related to increased fracture risk, but little is known about the patterns and correlates of Tb and Ct vBMD loss with aging. We examined the rates of change in total, Tb.vBMD, and Ct.