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Non-Esterified Fatty Acids and Risks of Frailty, Disability, and Mobility Limitation in Older Adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study.

TitleNon-Esterified Fatty Acids and Risks of Frailty, Disability, and Mobility Limitation in Older Adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsAhiawodzi, P, Djoussé, L, Ix, JH, Kizer, JR, Tracy, RP, Arnold, A, Newman, A, Mukamal, KJ
JournalJ Am Geriatr Soc
Date Published2020 Sep 22
ISSN1532-5415
Abstract<p><b>BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: </b>Non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) play central roles in the relationship between adiposity and glucose metabolism, and they have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease, but few studies have assessed their effects on complex geriatric syndromes like frailty that cross multiple organ systems. We sought to determine the relationships between NEFAs and incident frailty, disability, and mobility limitation in a population-based cohort of older persons.</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>We analyzed 4,710 Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) participants who underwent measurement of circulating total fasting NEFAs in 1992-1993 and were assessed for frailty in 1996-1997 and for disability and mobility limitation annually. We used ordinal logistic regression to model incident frailty, linear regression to model components of frailty, and Cox regression to model disability and mobility limitation in relation to baseline NEFAs. To ensure proportional hazards, we truncated follow-up at 9 years for disability and 6.5 years for mobility limitation.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>A total of 42 participants became frail and 510 became pre-frail over a 4-year period, and we documented 1,720 cases of disability and 1,225 cases of mobility limitation during follow-up. NEFAs were positively associated in a dose-dependent manner with higher risks of incident frailty, disability, and mobility limitation. The adjusted odds ratios for frailty were 1.37 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-1.86; P = .04) across extreme tertiles and 1.17 (95% CI = 1.03-1.33; P = .01) per standard deviation increment. The corresponding hazard ratios for incident disability were 1.14 (95% CI = 1.01-1.30; P = .04) and 1.11 (95% CI = 1.06-1.17; P < .0001); those for incident mobility limitation were 1.23 (95% CI = 1.06-1.43; P = .006) and 1.15 (95% CI = 1.08-1.22; P < .0001). Results were largely consistent among both men and women. Among individual components of frailty, NEFAs were significantly associated with self-reported exhaustion (β = .07; standard error = .03; P = .02).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION: </b>Circulating NEFAs are significantly associated with frailty, disability, and mobility limitation among older adults. These results highlight the broad spectrum of adverse health issues associated with NEFA in older adults.</p>
DOI10.1111/jgs.16793
Alternate JournalJ Am Geriatr Soc
PubMed ID32964434
Grant ListHHSN268200800007C / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
HHSN268201200036C / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
HHSN268201800001C / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC55222 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85079 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85080 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85081 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85082 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85083 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85086 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
U01HL080295 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
U01HL130114 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
R01AG023629 / / National Institute of Aging /
R01AG053325 / / National Institute of Aging /
ePub date: 
20/10