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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES:Although both frailty and low vitamin D have been separately associated with an increased risk for adverse health, their joined effects on mortality have not been reported. The current study examined prospectively the effects of frailty and vitamin D status on mortality in US older adults.SUBJECTS/METHODS:Participants aged 60 years in The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with 12 years of mortality follow-up were included in the analysis (n=4731). Frailty was defined as meeting three or more criteria and pre-frailty as meeting one or two of the five frailty criteria (low body mass index (BMI), slow walking, weakness, exhaustion and low physical activity). Vitamin D status was assessed by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and categorized into quartiles. Analyses were adjusted for gender, race, age, smoking, education, latitude and other comorbid conditions.RESULTS:Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were lowest in participants with frailty, intermediate in participants with pre-frailty and highest in participants without frailty. The odds of frailty in the lowest quartile of serum 25(OH)D was 1.94 times the odds in the highest quartile (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09-3.44). Mortality was positively associated with frailty, with the risk among participants who were frail and had low serum 25(OH)D being significantly higher than those who were not frail and who had high concentrations of serum 25(OH)D (hazards ratio 2.98; 95% CI: 2.01-4.42).CONCLUSION:Our results suggest that low serum 25(OH)D is associated with frailty, and there is additive joint effects of serum 25(OH)D and frailty on all-cause mortality in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study prospectively the association of coffee intake with incident diabetes in the Puerto Rico Heart Health Program cohort, comprising 9824 middle-aged men (aged 35-79 years). Methods: Of 9824 men, 3869 did not provide a fasting blood sample at baseline, 1095 had prevalent diabetes and 131 were not given fasting glucose tests at any subsequent study visit. Thus, the present analysis includes 4685 participants. Diabetes was ascertained at baseline and at two study visits between 1968 and 1975 using fasting glucose tests and self-reports of physician-diagnosed diabetes or use of insulin or hypoglycaemic medication. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association of coffee intake with risk of incident diabetes while adjusting for covariates (age, BMI, physical activity, smoking, education, alcohol intake, family history of diabetes, intakes of milk and sugar). Results: Five hundred and nineteen participants met the criteria for incident diabetes. Compared with those reporting intake of 1-2 servings of coffee/d, coffee abstainers were at reduced risk (OR = 0.64; 95% CI 0.43, 0.94). Among coffee drinkers, there was a significant trend of decreasing risk by intake (P = 0.02); intake of ≥4 servings/d was associated with an odds ratio of 0.75 (95% CI 0.58, 0.97). Conclusions: Study findings support a protective effect of coffee intake on diabetes risk, while also suggesting that abstainers may be at reduced risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI, kg m−2) and mortality rate among Hispanic adults.METHODS AND PROCEDURES:Analysis of five data sets (total N=16 798) identified after searching for publicly available, prospective cohort data sets containing relevant information for at least 500 Hispanic respondents (18 years at baseline), at least 5 years of mortality follow-up, and measured height and weight. Data sets included the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the Puerto Rico Heart Health Program (PRHHP), the Hispanic Established Population for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (HEPESE), the San Antonio Heart Study (SAHS) and the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging.RESULTS:Cox proportional hazards regression models, adjusting for sex and smoking, were fit within three attained-age strata (18 to younger than 60 years, 60 to younger than 70 years, and 70 years and older). We found that underweight was associated with elevated mortality rate for all age groups in the PRHHP (hazard ratios [HRs]=1.38-1.60) and the SAHS (HRs=1.88-2.51). Overweight (HRs=0.38 and 0.84) and obesity grade 2-3 (HRs=0.75 and 0.60) associated with reduced mortality rate in the HEPESE dataset for those in the 60 to younger than 70 years, and 70 years and older attained-age strata. Weighted estimates combining the HRs across the data sets revealed a similar pattern.CONCLUSION:Among Hispanic adults, there was no clear evidence that overweight and obesity associate with elevated mortality rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]