Longitudinal Association Between Education and Disability in Older Adults Living in Iceland

BACKGROUND: Disabilities among older adults are associated with cumulative adversities such as low socioeconomic status (SES), poor nutrition, and lack of access to medical care and education. However, there is little evidence on the long-term association between education and disability status among older adults in Iceland. The aim of the study was to examine the association between mid-life education and prevalence of disability in activities of daily living (ADL) and mobility disability in late-life using 25 years of longitudinal data. METHODS: A large community-based population residing in Reykjavik, Iceland participated in a longitudinal study with an average of 25 years of follow-up (N=5764, mean age 77±6 yrs, 57.7% of women) Mid-life education was categorized into 2 groups (primary and secondary versus college and university). Disability status in late life was defined with ADL and mobility disability with a binary outcome (no difficulty versus any difficulty). Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association. RESULTS: After controlling for age and gender, and midlife health risk factors, those who had high education at mid-life were less likely to have ADL disability (Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.75, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.64 ~ 0.88, P ≤ 0.001) and mobility disability (OR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.61 ~ 0.86, P < 0.001) compared with those who had low education in mid-life. CONCLUSION: People with high mid-life education were less likely to have ADL and mobility disability after 25 years later.Peer reviewe

ATP5H/KCTD2 locus is associated with Alzheimer's disease risk

To identify loci associated with Alzheimer disease, we conducted a three-stage analysis using existing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genotyping in a new sample. In Stage I, all suggestive single-nucleotide polymorphisms (at P<0.001) in a previously reported GWAS of seven independent studies (8082 Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases; 12 040 controls) were selected, and in Stage II these were examined in an in silico analysis within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology consortium GWAS (1367 cases and 12904 controls). Six novel signals reaching P<5 × 10-6 were genotyped in an independent Stage III sample (the Fundació ACE data set) of 2200 sporadic AD patients and 2301 controls. We identified a novel association with AD in the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase, H+ transporting, mitochondrial F0 (ATP5H)/Potassium channel tetramerization domain-containing protein 2 (KCTD2) locus, which reached genome-wide significance in the combined discovery and genotyping sample (rs11870474, odds ratio (OR)=1.58, P=2.6 × 10 -7 in discovery and OR=1.43, P=0.004 in Fundació ACE data set; combined OR=1.53, P=4.7 × 10 -9). This ATP5H/KCTD2 locus has an important function in mitochondrial energy production and neuronal hyperpolarization during cellular stress conditions, such as hypoxia or glucose deprivation

A century of trends in adult human height

Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5-22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3-19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8-144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries

A poor appetite or ability to eat and its association with physical function amongst community-dwelling older adults: age, gene/environment susceptibility-Reykjavik study

© 2020, The Author(s).A poor appetite or ability to eat and its association with physical function have not been explored considerably amongst community-dwelling older adults. The current study examined whether having an illness or physical condition affecting one’s appetite or ability to eat is associated with body composition, muscle strength, or physical function amongst community-dwelling older adults. This is a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the age, gene/environment susceptibility-Reykjavik study (n = 5764). Illnesses or physical conditions affecting one’s appetite or ability to eat, activities of daily living, current level of physical activity, and smoking habits were assessed with a questionnaire. Fat mass, fat-free mass, body mass index, knee extension strength, and grip strength were measured, and the 6-m walk test and timed up-and-go test were administered. Individuals who reported illnesses or physical conditions affecting their appetite or ability to eat were considered to have a poor appetite. The associations of appetite or the ability to eat with body composition and physical function were analysed with stepwise linear regression models. A total of 804 (14%) individuals reported having conditions affecting their appetite or ability to eat and had a significantly lower fat-free mass and body mass index, less grip strength, and poorer physical function than did those without any conditions affecting their appetite or ability to eat. Although the factors reported to affect one’s appetite or ability to eat are seldom considered severe, their strong associations with physical function suggest that any condition affecting one’s appetite or ability to eat requires attention

ATP5H/KCTD2 locus is associated with Alzheimer's disease risk

To identify loci associated with Alzheimer disease, we conducted a three-stage analysis using existing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genotyping in a new sample. In Stage I, all suggestive single-nucleotide polymorphisms (at P<0.001) in a previously reported GWAS of seven independent studies (8082 Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases; 12 040 controls) were selected, and in Stage II these were examined in an in silico analysis within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology consortium GWAS (1367 cases and 12904 controls). Six novel signals reaching P<5 x 10(-6) were genotyped in an independent Stage III sample (the Fundacio ACE data set) of 2200 sporadic AD patients and 2301 controls. We identified a novel association with AD in the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase, H + transporting, mitochondrial F0 (ATP5H)/Potassium channel tetramerization domain-containing protein 2 (KCTD2) locus, which reached genome-wide significance in the combined discovery and genotyping sample (rs11870474, odds ratio (OR)= 1.58, P= 2.6 X 10(-7) in discovery and OR 1.43, P= 0.004 in Fundacio ACE data set; combined OR= 1.53, P= 4.7 X 10(-9)). This ATP5H/KCTD2 locus has an important function in mitochondrial energy production and neuronal hyperpolarization during cellular stress conditions, such as hypoxia or glucose deprivation