Biomedical subjects

Cosimo R Russo

Publications and source records attributed to Cosimo R Russo.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Insulin resistance and muscle strength in older persons.

BACKGROUND: The functional consequences of an age-related insulin resistance (IR) state on muscle functioning are unknown. Because insulin is needed for adequate muscle function, an age-related insulin-resistant state may also be a determining factor. We evaluated the relationship between IR and handgrip muscle strength in men and women from a large population-based study (n = 968). METHODS: The degree of IR was evaluated by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) and muscle strength was assessed using handgrip. RESULTS: Simple sex-stratified correlations demonstrated that, in men, body mass index-adjusted handgrip strength correlated positively with physical activity (r = 0.321; p < .001), muscle area (r = 0.420; p < .001), muscle density (r = 0.263; p = .001), plasma albumin (r = 0.156; p = .001), insulin-like growth factor-1 (r = 0.258; p < .001), calcium (r = 0.140; p = .006), and testosterone (r = 0.325; p < .001) concentrations, whereas a negative association was found for age (r = -0.659; p < .001) and myoglobin plasma levels (r = -0.164; p =.001). In women, body mass index-adjusted handgrip strength correlated positively with physical activity (r = 0.280; p < .001), muscle area (r = 0.306; p < .001), muscle density (r = 0.341; p = .001), plasma albumin (r = 0.140; p =.001), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (r = 0.300; p < .001), whereas a negative association was found for age (r = -0.563; p < .001), myoglobin levels (r = -0.164; p = .001), and IR (r = -0.130; p = .04). CONCLUSIONS: Sex-stratified analyses adjusted for multiple confounders showed that the relationship between IR and handgrip strength was found significant in women, whereas it was negligible and not significant in men.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Hemoglobin levels and skeletal muscle: results from the InCHIANTI study.

BACKGROUND: Anemia is associated with reduced physical performance and muscle strength. The aim of the study was to explore whether anemia and hemoglobin levels are associated with differences in quantitative and qualitative measures of muscle and fat. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 909 participants 65 years and older enrolled in the "Invecchiare in Chianti" (InCHIANTI) study, a prospective population-based study of older people aimed at identifying risk factors for late-life disability. All the analyses were performed considering continuous hemoglobin levels as well as the dichotomous anemia variable (defined according to World Health Organization criteria as hemoglobin <12 g/dL in women and <13 g/dL in men). A peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) scan was performed in all participants to evaluate total, muscular, and fat cross-sectional areas of the calf and relative muscle density. Ankle extension strength was measured using a hand-held dynamometer. Linear regression analyses were used to assess the multivariate relationship of pQCT and skeletal muscle strength measures with hemoglobin levels and anemia after adjustment for demographics, chronic conditions, medication use, and other biological variables. RESULTS: Participants were aged 74.8 +/- 6.8 years. In our sample, 94 participants (10.3%) were anemic. Hemoglobin levels were significantly associated with muscle density (beta = 0.225 [SE, standard error 0.098], p=.02), muscle area/total area ratio (beta=0.778 [SE 0.262], p=.003), fat area/total area ratio (beta=-0.869 [SE 0.225]; p<.001). Skeletal muscle strength and muscle density were highly associated with anemia (beta=-3.266 [SE 1.173], p=.005 and beta=-0.816 [SE 0.374], p=.03, respectively). Results did not change when analyses were rerun in a restricted sample of participants not affected by major medical conditions. CONCLUSION: The present study shows that hemoglobin levels are associated with the parameters of body composition obtained by pQCT, and that decreases in muscular strength measures occur in the presence of anemia.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Age and disability affect dietary intake.

The purpose of the study was to provide information on dietary intake in the InCHIANTI study population, a representative sample (n = 1453) of persons living in two towns of Tuscany (Italy), including a large number of old and very old individuals (79.5% >65 y old). We also investigated whether difficulties in nutrition-related activities were associated with inadequate intake of selected nutrients. The percentage of persons with an inadequate intake of nutrients according to Italian Recommended Nutrients Levels (LARN) was higher in the older age groups. Older persons tended to adapt their diets in response to individual functional difficulties, often leading to monotonous food consumption and, as a consequence, to inadequate nutrient intakes. Multiple logistic models were used to evaluate whether inadequate intake of selected nutrients could be predicted by nutrition-related difficulties. Reporting difficulties in three or more nutrition-related activities (chewing, self-feeding, shopping for basic necessities, carrying a shopping bag, cooking a warm meal, using fingers to grasp or handle) significantly increased the risk of inadequate intake of energy [odds ratio (OR) = 3.8, 95% CI = 1.9-7.8) and vitamin C (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.2-4.2, after adjustment for energy intake). More attention to functional problems in the elderly population and the provision of formal or informal help to those who have difficulty in purchasing, processing and eating food may reduce, at least in part, the percentage of older persons with poor nutrition.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Understanding the physiological and functional consequences of menopause: the PROSALMEN study. PROgetto SALute MENopausa.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Women live longer and are more often affected by disability and poor health than men. The mechanism underlying this sex-related "mortality-morbidity" paradox is still unclear but it has been suggested that the physiological and functional changes occurring during the menopausal transition play an important role. The aim of PROSALMEN (PROgetto SALute MENopausa: Health in Menopause Project) is to study in great detail how these changes affect the integrity and function of the physiologic subsystems that are relevant to the maintenance of an active and healthy life-style during the aging process. METHODS: PROSALMEN is a cross-sectional comparison of age-matched pre- and post-menopausal women. Thirty post-menopausal women, aged 48-58 years, were enrolled in the study together with 30 age-matched pre-menopausal controls. A number of clinical, biological and functional parameters were collected assessing the integrity and level of function of the physiological subsystems that are important for mobility. Furthermore, we collected information on risk factors, medical conditions and symptoms that frequently develop or become clinically evident after menopause, including the most important elements of the classical post-menopausal syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: This rich dataset will be used to start dissecting the causal pathway leading from menopause to damages in the musculoskeletal system and, in turn, to reduced physical function. The final goal is to understand how and to what extent changes in health behavior and pharmacological treatments in addition to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may counteract these processes.

Aging↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Dietary intake estimated using different methods in two Italian older populations.

Most of the tools used to assess nutritional intake in large epidemiological studies were originally developed to be used in young and middle-aged subjects and, therefore, their validity and reliability when employed in older subjects remain uncertain. We conducted this study to verify whether the questionnaire developed in the context of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC) could be used to assess dietary intake in the participants of InCHIANTI, an epidemiological study of risk factors for disability in late life, performed in 633 men (78% aged, > or =65 years) and 802 women (81% aged, > or =65 years) randomly sampled from the general population. In particular, the aim of this project was to collect preliminary information that could support a future study of concurrent validity. Data on food consumption assessed using the EPIC questionnaire from the InCHIANTI participants were compared with those collected using a 7-day diary in the National Nutritional Investigation into Dietary Behavior (INN-CA), a study conducted in 15 Italian centres aimed at assessing Italian households' and individuals' dietary intake. In spite of different populations and different methods used in data collection, the distributions of dietary intake from the two studies were remarkably similar for most macro- and micro-nutrients, both in men and women and according to age groups. At a population level, a food frequency questionnaire and a costly and time-consuming objective method provided similar estimates of dietary intake. Future study should attempt to generalize these findings at an individual level by collecting data with both instruments in the same subjects.

Aged↗