UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Midlife Risk Factors for Impaired Physical and Cognitive Functioning at Older Ages: A Cohort Study

Brunner, EJ; Welch, CA; Shipley, MJ; Ahmadi-Abhari, S; Singh-Manoux, A; Kivimäki, M; (2016) Midlife Risk Factors for Impaired Physical and Cognitive Functioning at Older Ages: A Cohort Study. Journals of Gerontology: Series A , 72 (2) pp. 237-242. 10.1093/gerona/glw092. Green open access

[thumbnail of Kivimaki_glw092.pdf]
Preview
Text
Kivimaki_glw092.pdf - Published Version

Download (375kB) | Preview

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous studies examined midlife risk factors separately for old-age impaired physical and cognitive functioning. We determined the overlap of risk factors for both domains of functioning within the same setting. METHODS: Biological and behavioral risk factors at age 50 years and cognitive and physical functioning were assessed 18 (SD = 5) years later in the Whitehall II study (N = 6,316). Impaired physical functioning was defined as ≥1 limitation on the activities of daily living scale. Impaired cognitive functioning was defined as Mini-Mental State Examination score <27. Two statistical analyses were employed: minimally adjusted analysis (for age, sex, and ethnicity) and mutually adjusted analysis (including all risk factors). Missing data on risk factors were imputed. RESULTS: After confounder adjustment, impaired physical and cognitive functioning at older ages were predicted by hypertension (odds ratios [ORs] 1.80 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.39-2.33 and 1.57 95% CI 1.07-2.31, respectively), poor lung function (1.51 95% CI 1.28-1.78 and 1.31 95% CI 1.08-1.59), and physical inactivity, marginally in the case of cognitive function (1.50 95% CI 1.19-1.90 and 1.27 95% CI 0.99-1.62) at age 50 years. Impaired physical functioning but not cognitive functioning was additionally predicted by depression and higher body mass index (1.72 95% CI 1.46-2.03 and 1.29 95% CI 1.16-1.44, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Several midlife risk factors are associated with impaired physical and cognitive functioning in old age, supporting a unified prevention policy. Analysis of 12 risk factors at age 50 suggests that strategies targeting physical inactivity, hypertension, and poor lung function will reduce impairments in both cognitive and physical functioning in old age.

Type: Article
Title: Midlife Risk Factors for Impaired Physical and Cognitive Functioning at Older Ages: A Cohort Study
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glw092
Publisher version: http:/dx.doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glw092
Language: English
Additional information: © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: Aging, Cognitive functioning, Life course, Physical functioning
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1499875
Downloads since deposit
110Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item