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Aim Slow gait speed has been associated with mortality, poor physical function and disability in older people. Our aim was to evaluate the association between slow gait speed and rapid cognitive decline among oldest-old men in Taiwan. Methods We carried out a longitudinal cohort study in a veterans' retirement community, and enrolled 249 male residents aged 80 years and older. Slow gait speed was defined as <1 m/s, and rapid cognitive decline was defined as a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) decline of ≥3 points over 1 year. Body mass index, Charlson's Comorbidity Index, handgrip strength, gait speed and Mini-Mental State Examination datasets were collected, and a logistic regression model was built to evaluate the association between fast cognitive decline and slow gait speed. Results In all, 249 residents (mean age 86.4 ± 4.01 years) were recruited, including 58 (23.3%) with rapid cognitive decline. Univariate analysis showed that slow gait speed could predict rapid cognitive decline (OR 4.10, 95% CI 1.20-14.00, P = 0.024). After adjusting for age, Charlson's Comorbidity Index, polypharmacy, psychiatric drug usage, cigarette smoking experience, baseline cognitive function, depressive mood, handgrip strength, nutritional status and history of fall, slow gait speed was still independently associated with rapid cognitive decline (adjusted OR 4.58, 95% CI 1.22-17.2, P = 0.024). Conclusions Slow gait speed was thus an independent predictor of rapid cognitive decline in oldest-old men in a veterans' retirement community in Taiwan. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017: 17 (Suppl. 1): 14-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To evaluate the association of cognitive impairment, depressive mood and sarcopenia among older men living in the veterans retirement community in southern Taiwan Methods This cross-sectional study recruited 353 men aged 65 years and older. In addition to demographic characteristics, all participants were measured for gait speed, handgrip strength and muscle mass by using bioelectrical impedance analysis ( BIA). The diagnosis of sarcopenia was made according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People criteria. Slow walking speed was defined as ≤0.8 meter/second. Low muscle strength was defined as the handgrip strength less than 22.5 kg which was adjusted according to Taiwanese norms. A height-adjusted muscle mass of 8.87 kg/m2 from a previous Taiwanese study was defined as low muscle mass. Cognitive function was evaluated by the Mini- Mental State Examination ( MMSE), and the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 ( GDS-15) was used for screening of depressive symptoms. Results Among the 353 participants (mean age 82.7 ± 5.3 years), 30.9% (109/353) were classified as sarcopenic. Multivariate logistic regression showed that sarcopenia was independently associated with cognitive impairment (adjusted OR 3.03, 95% CI 1.63-5.65, P < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (adjusted OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.03-4.89, P = 0.04). Conclusions Sarcopenia was significantly associated with cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms among otherwise healthy older men living in the veterans retirement community. Further outcome study is required to explore the interrelationship of cognition, depressive symptoms and sarcopenia in older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2014; 14 (Suppl. 1): 102-108. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Malnutrition was associated with low handgrip strength among older male adults. • Both malnutrition and low handgrip strength were predictors for mortality. • Low handgrip strength with malnutrition synergistically increased the mortality risk. No studies have yet examined the interrelationship of malnutrition and low handgrip strength in terms of mortality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential synergistic effects of malnutrition and low handgrip strength on mortality among older adults living in a retirement community. This prospective longitudinal cohort study recruited subjects aged 65 years and over from a veterans care home in Taiwan in 2013. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF, malnutrition was MNA-SF<12); muscle strength was measured by handgrip strength (low handgrip strength was handgrip strength <26 kg). The Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test was used to estimate survival differences between groups and Cox proportional regression model was used to estimate the adjusted difference in 4-year all-cause mortality between groups. Recruited for the present study were 333 male participants (mean age 85.4 ± 5.7 years). Of these, 50.2% had malnutrition and 54.7% had low handgrip strength. Compared with subjects with no malnutrition and low handgrip strength, those with malnutrition had significantly greater risk of 4-year all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio: 2.05, 95% confident interval [CI]: 1.04–4.01); hazard ratio increased to 3.41 (95% CI 1.93–6.04) for those with both malnutrition and low handgrip strength. Malnutrition was an independent risk factor for 4-year all-cause mortality and low handgrip strength with malnutrition synergistically increased the mortality risk. Further study is needed to confirm the effectiveness of integrated programs to assist those at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]