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Published on: July 14, 2016
Homocysteine and mobility in older adults
Lydia Rolita1, Roee Holtzer, Cuiling Wang
1Department of General Internal Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10461, USA.
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 (
Conclusion:
Higher homocysteine levels are associated with greater risk of mobility decline in community-residing older adults.
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