Anthropometric Aging Links Neuromusculoskeletal Diseases to Cognitive and Physical Deficits

Clicks: 22
ID: 327029
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Emerging

Ranked #84 of 176 articles by views in the journals of gerontology series a, biological sciences and medical sciences

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 176 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Aging changes whole-body anthropometry. Accelerated anthropometric aging can be operationalized as the age gap between the anthropometric-predicted age and the chronological age (AAG). What disease conditions affect AAG and subsequent functional deficits remains unclear. METHODS: In 302 Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging participants (mean age=71.7 years, 58% women, 30% Black), we examined the associations between AAG and disease conditions using multivariable linear regression, adjusted for age, sex, and race, and further tested whether AAG would mediate the association between diseases and functional outcomes. RESULTS: Across disease conditions examined, AAG was specifically associated with osteoporosis, connective tissue disease, and neurodegenerative disease (including mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and Parkinson's disease) (p = 0.006, 0.047, and 0.034, respectively) and showed a trend to spinal stenosis (p = 0.098). AAG was not associated with pulmonary and vascular conditions, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, liver and kidney diseases, eye diseases, or cancer. AAG significantly mediated the associations between osteoporosis, connective tissue disease, and neurodegenerative disease and a range of cognitive and physical function measures (mediation effects all p < 0.05). Notably, AAG mediated the associations between neurodegenerative disease and measures important for motor planning and control, such as visuospatial ability, gesture imitation, and rapid gait speed. AAG also mediated the associations of osteoporosis and spinal stenosis with muscle strength. CONCLUSIONS: Anthropometric aging is specifically associated with neuromusculoskeletal diseases and may partly account for the associations between certain disease conditions and subsequent functional deficits. Future studies involving blood biomarkers are warranted to uncover the biological processes of anthropometric aging.
Reference Key
openalex_W7204916055 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Qu Tian, Suha Shin, Amber B Courtier, Kong Y. Chen, Luigi Ferrucci
Are you one of these authors? Claim your profile
Journal the journals of gerontology series a, biological sciences and medical sciences
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/gerona/glag217
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glag217
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.