👤 Claudio Franceschi

Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is characterized by the presence of both obesity and sarcopenia and is related to disability and loss of independence in older adults. The extent to which time spent in light physical activity (LPA), or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is associated with SO risk in older adults remains unclear. The aim of this study was (a) to examine the association between the level of adherence to recommended amounts of MVPA and the risk of SO in older adults and (b) to determine whether time spent in LPA is associated with SO risk independently of time spent in MVPA. This cross-sectional study involved 862 community-dwelling older adults (58% women; aged 65-79 years) from four European countries. Accelerometer-determined time in MVPA was categorized as follows: inactive (< 75 min/week), moderately active (75-149 min/week), active (150-299 min/week) and highly active (≥ 300 min/week). Time in LPA was expressed in tertiles. The outcome measure SO risk was determined based on appendicular lean mass, waist circumference, handgrip strength and the 5-times sit-to-stand test. Odds ratios (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of high SO risk across levels of MVPA and LPA were determined by binary logistic regression adjusted for the level of systemic inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) and dietary protein intake. Compared to the inactive group, ORs of having a high SO risk were about 50%-80% lower, depending on the MVPA level, with the largest risk reduction in the highly active group (OR: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.13-0.39; p < 0.05). The likelihood of having a high SO risk was significantly lower among the highly active group compared to the active group (OR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.33-0.77; p < 0.05). More time in LPA was associated with a significantly lower likelihood of having high SO risk (highest vs. lowest tertile: OR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.30-0.89; p < 0.05) only in participants with low amounts of MVPA. In contrast, LPA was not associated with SO risk among participants meeting the MVPA recommendation. MVPA is strongly associated with a lower likelihood of having a high SO risk in older adults, independently of the level of systemic inflammation and intakes of dietary proteins. LPA is related to SO risk in sedentary older adults, which supports the promotion of physical activity regardless of intensity for mitigating SO. Show less

The genes coding for apolipoprotein A1 (APOA1), apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) and apolipoprotein A4 (APOA4) are tandemly organised within a short region on chromosome 11q23-q24. Polymorphisms of these genes have been extensively investigated in lipoprotein disorders and cardiovascular diseases, but poorly investigated in healthy ageing. The aim of this study was to describe possible modifications of the APOA1, APOC3, and APOA4 gene pool by cross-sectional studies carried out in a healthy ageing population whose ages ranged from 18 to 109 years (800 subjects, 327 males and 473 females, free of clinically manifested disease, and with emato-chemical parameters in the norm). APOA1-MspI-RFLP (-75 nt from the transcription starting site), APOC3-SstI-RFLP (3'UTR, 3238 nt), and APOA4-HincII-RFLP (Asp127/Ser127) were analysed according to age and sex. A significant age-related variation of the APOA1 gene pool was observed in males. An analysis of the allele average effect exerted by APOA1-MspI-RFLP A/P alleles (Absence/Presence of the restriction site) on lipidemic parameters in 46-80 year old males showed that allele A decreased, while allele P significantly increased, serum LDL-cholesterol. Unexpectedly, the P allele was over-represented in the group of the oldest old subjects, thus giving evidence of another "genetic paradox of centenarians". Show less