Introduction: Aging is a key risk factor for progressive kidney disease, yet the mechanisms underlying age-related renal dysfunction remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the role of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the transition from healthy renal aging to dysfunction, focusing on its involvement in cellular senescence, inflammation, and oxidative stress.
Methods: Male Swiss mice aged 3 (young), 12 (middle-aged), and 18 (old) months were analyzed to assess renal function via blood and 24-h urine collection. Protein expression was evaluated by Western blot, and renal collagenase and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) activities were assessed by immunofluorescence. Neutrophil accumulation was measured by myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, cytokine levels were measured by ELISA, and oxidative stress was assessed by fluorescence.
Results: Old mice showed elevated expression of senescence markers (p53, p21, and p16), COX-2, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB p65), and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, MCP-1), along with increased MPO activity. Collagenase and MMP-2 activities were also enhanced, particularly in glomerular and tubular regions. Furthermore, upregulation of NADPH oxidase subunits and decreased antioxidant enzyme expression resulted in heightened renal ROS production. These molecular changes were accompanied by significant renal dysfunction, as indicated by reduced creatinine clearance and increased albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR). Notably, COX-2 expression positively correlated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and renal dysfunction. In contrast, middle-aged mice exhibited early signs of senescence and oxidative stress without overt inflammation or functional impairment.
Conclusion: These findings highlight a critical transitional phase in kidney aging, where early senescence and oxidative stress emerge before functional decline. COX-2 may serve as a central mediator in this process, offering a potential therapeutic target for mitigating age-related renal dysfunction.
Introduction: The presence of depressive symptoms in older people has become increasingly relevant in the context of global population aging. Although not a natural consequence of aging, such symptoms may be influenced by chronic conditions, functional limitations, and environmental factors. This study sought to assess the occurrence of depressive symptoms in older people from a region of Brazil and to investigate the related factors using a multilevel perspective.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional, population-based study among individuals aged ≥60 years. Depressive symptoms (outcome) were measured using the GDS-15, with a score of five points or higher indicating the presence of depressive symptoms. Diseases were assessed through self-reports. Functional capacity was evaluated using (i) the Katz index; (ii) handgrip strength; and (iii) walking speed. The surrounding environment for physical activity was assessed based on participants' perceptions. Multilevel logistic regression models examined the odds of having depressive symptoms according to the variables analyzed.
Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms among older people was 36.6%, with a higher proportion among women (41.2%). Individuals diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.63; CI: 1.06-2.49), cataracts (OR = 1.76; CI: 1.17-2.66), those considered dependent for performing basic activities of daily living (OR = 6.70; CI: 1.21-37.14), with low handgrip strength (OR = 2.44; CI: 1.50-3.97), and those who reported heavy vehicle traffic as a barrier to physical activity (OR = 1.71; CI: 1.14-2.56) had higher chances of presenting depressive symptoms.
Conclusion: Regardless of individual and municipal characteristics, the presence of depressive symptoms in older people was associated with chronic/degenerative diseases, functional capacity impairment, and the perception of the environment (heavy vehicle traffic) as a hindrance to physical activity around the home.
Introduction: Osteosarcopenia (OS) is a common geriatric condition, which seriously impairs the quality of life of the elderly, but there is a lack of research on its mechanism and treatment. This study explores the efficacy of whole-body vibration (WBV) training plus vitamin D in OS intervention and its correlation with irisin and myostatin (MSTN).
Methods: Subjects meeting the enrollment criteria were recruited from the Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Forty-eight volunteers were enrolled and divided into a control group and a WBVT group, with 24 in each. The control group takes 0.25 μg of calcitriol orally half an hour after breakfast daily. The WBVT group received WBV training 3 times a week in addition to the control treatment for 3 months, followed by a 3-month follow-up. Primary outcomes were lumbar, hip, and forearm bone mineral density (BMD), appendicular skeletal muscle mass measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and handgrip strength. Secondary outcomes included serum MSTN, irisin, bone turnover markers, physical performance (assessed by 5-time chair stand test, 6-m walk, and SPPB), and adverse events in the trial.
Results: Baseline indicators were comparable between the two groups. WBV training with oral vitamin D improved OS patients' BMD, muscle mass, strength, and physical function. It increased serum vitamin D, N-MID, tPINP levels and decreased β-CTX levels. Also, it raised irisin and lowered MSTN levels.
Conclusion: WBV training in conjunction with oral vitamin D administration is conducive to increasing BMD, augmenting muscle mass and strength, as well as improving body function in subjects with OS. The underlying mechanism might be associated with the modulation of myokines such as irisin and MSTN.
Objectives: Negative wealth shocks can pose a serious threat to health; however, there has been no research exploring the potential link between negative wealth shocks and epigenetic aging. This study aimed to explore the relationship between negative wealth shocks and epigenetic aging in middle-aged and older adults.
Methods: This study conducted an analysis using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The analytical sample was reduced by excluding 36 participants who lacked BMI or tobacco data, resulting in a final sample size of 3,982 individuals. A negative wealth shock is characterized by a decline of 75% or more in total wealth between two consecutive waves, representing a significant decline in wealth. Various epigenetic clocks - including Horvath, Hannum, PhenoAge, GrimAge, DunedinPoAm, epiTOC, Zhang, and Skin&Blood - were employed to assess biological age by analyzing DNA methylation patterns. OLS linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between wealth status and the epigenetic clocks.
Results: Among the participants, 6.98% experienced a negative wealth shock, 6.93% were classified as baseline asset poor, and 86.09% belonged to the positive wealth group. No significant relationship was found between negative wealth shock and the first-generation epigenetic clocks. However, a correlation was observed between negative wealth shock and accelerated epigenetic aging when assessed using the second-generation clocks (epiTOC, Zhang, GrimAge) and the third-generation clock (DunedinPoAm), with the exception of PhenoAge. After adjusting for demographic factors and socioeconomic factors, the significant association between negative wealth shock and accelerated aging in DunedinPoAm, Zhang, and GrimAge persisted. Effects are net of chronological age (model 1), largely attenuated when accounting for SES (model 2), and no longer statistically significant net of lifestyle factors (model 3).
Conclusions: Our study identifies a significant relationship between negative wealth shocks and biological aging in middle-aged and older adults. This suggests that socioeconomic factors, particularly sudden economic losses and fluctuations, should be considered in strategies for promoting healthy longevity and aging interventions. Additionally, there is a need for unemployment protection policies or measures to help stabilize medical and food consumption for households or individuals during times of economic instability, addressing the negative impacts of wealth shocks on accelerated aging.
Introduction: Understanding risk factors associated with perceived and objective neighborhood environments is critical for community-level interventions to prevent falls. This is a cross-sectional design to explore how perceived and objective neighborhood environment are related to falls among community-dwelling older adults in densely populated urban areas. Building upon identified neighborhood environment risk factors, this study proposes preliminary community-level interventions tailored to each determinant.
Methods: This study analyzed data of 400 community-dwelling older adults (age = 70.9 ± 8.0 years; 49.8% female) in central urban areas of Guangzhou, China. Five categories of variable, perceived neighborhood environment, objective neighborhood environment, sociodemographics, health status, and physical activity, were incorporated. Objective neighborhood environment comprised accessibility to ten types of facilities within 500-meter residential buffers and 1 km2 grid-level population density, measured by ArcGIS using geospatial data. Univariate analyses were employed to select variables and multivariable binary logistic regression were used to establish the adjusted model.
Results: Older adults who perceived low accessibility to service facilities (OR = 2.502, 95% CI: 1.230-5.088), unsatisfying streetscapes (OR = 1.814, 95% CI: 1.001-3.286), and unsafety neighborhood (OR = 2.614, 95% CI: 1.103-6.192) had higher probabilities of reported falls. Surprisingly, having parks (OR = 0.524, 95% CI: 0.319-0.861) or subway stations (OR = 0.556, 95% CI: 0.326-0.951) within the 500-meter residential buffer, and living in neighborhoods with relatively low population density (OR = 0.842, 95% CI: 0.731-0.972) were associated with an increased risk of falls. Young age (OR = 0.927, 95% CI: 0.887-0.970), low income (OR = 2.449, 95% CI: 1.476-4.064), using walking aids (OR = 1.789, 95% CI: 0.960-3.337), and self-rated good health (OR = 0.392, 95% CI: 0.175-0.879) were risk factors of reported falls. Engaging in physical activity for over 30 min per day (OR = 2.148, 95% CI: 1.111-4.154) was identified as a protective factor.
Conclusion: Integrating multi-source perceived and objective environmental data, this study found out neighborhood environment risk factors for falls among older adults in high-density urban communities. Our findings contribute to community-level interventions regarding neighborhood environment to reduce falls in older adults in urban areas of developing countries.
Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency has previously been shown to be associated with cancer-related fatigue. If vitamin D deficiency affects fatigue in frail elderly has not been studied before. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between vitamin D, fatigue, frailty, and sarcopenia in frail elderly with cancer (FEC) and without cancer (FE) in comparison with healthy controls.
Methods: Baseline data from the "IMmunity and AGE" (IMAGE) study were used. IMAGE is an observational, prospective study originally designed to study immunity in frail elderly. In this study, data on self-assessed fatigue (0-10), vitamin D, and muscle strength at baseline were used. Four groups were included: (1) healthy elderly (HE) ≥65 years old with a score of 1-3 on Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS); (2) FE ≥65 years old (CFS 4-9); (3) with advanced cancer (FEC); and (4) healthy controls 18-64 years old (HY).
Results: A total of 273 participants were included. HE had significantly higher vitamin D levels compared to FE and FEC, median 82 nmol/L compared to 54 and 47 nmol/L (p < 0.001 for both). FE and FEC were more fatigued, median 5 (IQR 4-8) and 7 (IQR 5-8), compared to HE, median 2 (IQR 0-4) (p < 0.001 for both). Regression models showed that low vitamin D was associated with increased fatigue (p < 0.001), frailty (p < 0.001), and reduced muscle strength (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Fatigue was common in frail elderly, with or without cancer, and was associated with low vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency was associated with increasing frailty and reduced muscle strength.
Introduction: In ageing societies, older adults may increasingly take on informal caregiving responsibilities for others. Although some previous studies indicate that informal caregiving among adults is associated with an increased risk of loneliness and social isolation, studies have not focused specifically on informal caregivers who are older adults themselves and therefore may be at increased risk of adverse psychosocial outcomes. In this study, we aimed to assess if informal caregiving at older ages adversely impacts loneliness and social networks.
Methods: We used data pertaining to 2,577 participants in a nationally representative longitudinal study of community-dwelling older adults in Singapore, a rapidly ageing Asian country. To address selection bias into caregiving, we estimated the relationship between caregiving status with loneliness and social networks using inverse probability-weighted regression adjustment, controlling for multiple demographic and health characteristics.
Results: Informal caregiving among older adults impacted loneliness and was related to a 28.9% higher loneliness score. However, informal caregiving at older ages was not related to either social networks overall or family- and friends-focused social networks.
Conclusion: Older adult informal caregivers are a vulnerable subgroup at a higher risk of loneliness. Although informal caregiving does not impact social networks, older adult informal caregivers experience higher loneliness, i.e., a perceived discrepancy between their actual and desired social relationships compared to non-caregivers. Our study suggests the need for further examination of the underlying mechanisms between informal caregiving at older ages and loneliness, as well as a special focus on older adult caregivers in efforts and interventions to address loneliness at older ages.
Introduction: Loneliness among the elderly population has been well established as a risk factor for poor health outcomes, including increased morbidity and mortality. The study objective was to evaluate the feasibility of assessing and implementing patient-tailored interventions to reduce loneliness among elderly patients in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU).
Methods: This randomized control trial conducted at the CICU included 58 patients; 28 patients were in control and 30 in the intervention groups. The University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale and the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale were administered at the time of admission to the CICU and immediately before discharge. The intervention group was given an individualized questionnaire to determine their needs and preferences, which were used to create patient-tailored interventions provided by CICU staff. The control group received standard care.
Results: The results of the study revealed that while there was no significant reduction in overall loneliness scores between the intervention and control groups, there was a significant difference in the reduction of loneliness scores for the item "I miss having people around me" (p = 0.02) in the intervention group compared to the control group. Additionally, a near significant difference in loneliness score reductions was observed for the item "I feel left out" (p = 0.05) in the intervention group. These results suggest that patient-tailored interventions focused on addressing patient-specific needs may lead to a reduction in certain aspects of loneliness.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates the feasibility of identifying loneliness in a critical care setting, as well as developing an intervention strategy tailored to the individual patient's needs. These findings highlight the importance of addressing loneliness in the setting of an intensive care unit and provide support for the need to further explore and implement strategies to reduce loneliness in this population.
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：