Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-9-2014
Publication Title
Nutrition Journal
Department
Geisel School of Medicine
Abstract
Background: We previously demonstrated that BMI is associated with functional decline and reduced quality of life. While BMI in older adults is fraught with challenges, waist circumference (WC) is a marker of visceral adiposity that can also predict mortality. However, its association with function and quality of life in older adults is not well understood and hence we sought to examine the impact of WC on six-year outcomes.
Methods: We identified adults aged ≥60 years from the longitudinal Osteoarthritis Initiative and stratified the cohort into quartiles based on WC. Our primary outcome measures of function at six year follow-up included: self-reported quality of life [Short Form-12 (SF-12)], physical function [Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE)] and disability [Late-life Disability Index (LLDI)]. Linear regression analyses predicted 6-year outcomes based on WC quartile category (lowest = referent), adjusted for age, sex, race, education, knee pain, smoking status, a modified Charlson co-morbidity index and baseline scores, where available.
DOI
10.1186/1475-2891-13-81
Dartmouth Digital Commons Citation
Batsis, John A.; Zbehlik, Alicia J.; Barre, Laura K.; Mackenzie, Todd A.; and Bartels, Stephen J., "The Impact of Waist Circumference on Function and Physical Activity in Older Adults: Longitudinal Observational Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative" (2014). Dartmouth Scholarship. 1636.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/1636
