Premium
Homocysteine and Mobility in Older Adults
Author(s) -
Rolita Lydia,
Holtzer Roee,
Wang Cuiling,
Lipton Richard B.,
Derby Carol A.,
Verghese Joe
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02718.x
Subject(s) - medicine , quartile , homocysteine , confounding , demography , dementia , prospective cohort study , gerontology , cognitive decline , cohort , cohort study , confidence interval , disease , sociology
OBJECTIVES: To determine the influence of homocysteine on mobility decline in older adults. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: Einstein Aging Study, community‐based aging study. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred seventy‐four older adults without dementia (mean age 80.2 ± 5.4, 61% women). MEASUREMENTS: Mobility decline defined using gait velocity measurements at baseline and annual follow‐up visits. Linear mixed effects models were used to adjust for age, sex, education, and other potential confounders. RESULTS: Higher homocysteine levels were associated with slower gait velocity at baseline. Adjusted for age, sex, and education, a one‐unit increase in baseline log homocysteine levels was associated with a 2.95‐cm/s faster mobility decline per year ( P =.01) over a median follow‐up of 1.4 years. The 140 subjects in the highest quartile of homocysteine had a faster rate of mobility decline (1.75 cm/s per year faster, P =.01) than the 434 subjects in the lowest three quartiles of homocysteine (≤15 μmol/L). The association between homocysteine and mobility decline remained robust even after adjusting for multiple confounders and accounting for the presence of clinical gait abnormalities. CONCLUSION: Higher homocysteine levels are associated with greater risk of mobility decline in community‐residing older adults.