Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 27, 2026
A Training Program Using an Agility Ladder for Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Published on: March 7, 2020
Elevated Plasma Growth and Differentiation Factor 15 Is Associated With Slower Gait Speed and Lower Physical
Richard D Semba1, Marta Gonzalez-Freire2, Toshiko Tanaka2
1Wilmer Eye Institute, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Background:
Growth and differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) has been associated with obesity, muscle wasting, and cachexia. The receptor for GDF-15 was recently identified in the brainstem and regulates food intake and metabolism. The relationship of plasma GDF-15 with the age-associated decline of muscle mass and strength, gait speed, and physical performance in adults has not been well characterized.
Methods:
Plasma GDF-15, grip strength, 6-m gait speed, 400-m walking test time, lower extremity physical performance score, appendicular lean mass, and fat mass were measured in 194 healthy adult participants, aged 22-93 years, of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.
Results:
Plasma GDF-15 concentrations increased with age (p < .001) and were higher in whites compared with blacks and Asians (p = .04). Adults with higher plasma GDF-15 had slower 6-m gait speed, longer 400-m walking time, and lower physical performance score in multivariable analyses adjusting for age and race. Plasma GDF-15 was not associated with grip strength, appendicular lean mass, or fat mass.
Conclusions:
Elevated plasma GDF-15 is associated with slower gait speed, higher 400-m walking time, and lower physical performance in very healthy community-dwelling adults. The relationship between plasma GDF-15 and sarcopenia-related outcomes may be stronger in the population not selected to be healthy, and this hypothesis should be tested in a representative population.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Factors Influencing Attraction II: Physical Attraction
01:28Role of Hematopoietic Growth Factors
Thrombopoietin (TPO), mainly released by the liver,...
01:29Factors Influencing Microbial Growth: pH
01:23Physical Methods for Controlling Microbial Growth: Temperature
00:30What are Populations and Communities?
03:12Freezing Point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation
The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which its vapor pressure is equal to ambient atmospheric pressure. Since the vapor pressure of a solution is lowered due to the presence of nonvolatile solutes, it stands to reason that the solution’s boiling point will subsequently be increased. Vapor pressure increases with temperature, and so a solution will require a higher temperature than will pure solvent to achieve any given vapor pressure, including one...