This study provides a comprehensive assessment of falls over 3 years, highlighting differences in fall patterns and associated self-reported risk factors between men and women. These findings may offer valuable insights for developing sex-specific fall risk prediction models and targeted fall prevention strategies.
We provide MMSE and MoCA scores for generally healthy, community-dwelling older adults from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France and Portugal. The median MMSE and MoCA scores differed with age and education, and – less consistently – with sex.
Among generally healthy, active, and largely vitamin D3 replete adults aged 70 years and older, vitamin D3, omega-3s and SHEP, individually and in combination had no benefits on self-reported PA and objectively measured physical function. The detrimental effect of vitamin D supplementation on PA change needs further examination.
While observational studies and small pilot trials suggest that vitamin D, omega-3 and exercise may slow biological aging, larger clinical trials testing these treatments individually or in combination are lacking. Here, we report the results of a post hoc analysis among 777 participants of the DO-HEALTH trial on the effect of vitamin D (2,000 IU per day) and/or omega-3 (1 g per day) and/or a home exercise program on four next-generation DNA methylation (DNAm) measures of biological aging (PhenoAge, GrimAge, GrimAge2 and DunedinPACE) over 3 years. Omega-3 alone slowed the DNAm clocks PhenoAge, GrimAge2 and DunedinPACE, and all three treatments had additive benefits on PhenoAge. Overall, from baseline to year 3, standardized effects ranged from 0.16 to 0.32 units (2.9-3.8 months). In summary, our trial indicates a small protective effect of omega-3 treatment on slowing biological aging over 3 years across several clocks, with an additive protective effect of omega-3, vitamin D and exercise based on PhenoAge.
Our results suggest that FRID use is associated with increased prospective incidence rates of total, injurious, and recurrent falls even among generally healthy older adults.
Among healthy, physically active older adults, ALMI and incidence of sarcopenia were not improved by treatment of daily 2000 IU vitamin D, daily 1 g omega-3s, or a simple home exercise program compared with control over 3 years.
Vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids (omega-3s), and strength training are simple but promising strategies to improve bone health; however, their effect in healthy older adults over a period of 3 years was unclear. In this study, we examined whether daily vitamin D supplementation (2000 IU/d), daily omega-3s supplementation (1 g/d), or a simple strength training program performed 3 times per week, either applied alone (eg, only vitamin D supplements) or in combination (eg, vitamin D and omega-3s supplements) could improve bone density at the spine, hip, or femoral neck. We included 1493 healthy older adults from Switzerland, Germany, France, and Portugal who were at least 70 years of age and who had not experienced any major health events in the 5 years before study start. Taking omega-3s supplements showed no benefit for bone density. Similarly, the simple strength exercise program showed no benefit. In contrast, participants receiving daily vitamin D supplements experienced a benefit at the hip. However, it should be noted that the effect across 3 years was very small.
Our findings suggest that decreased VA is an independent predictor of an about 20% increased risk of all and injurious falls, highlighting the importance of regular eye examinations and VA measurements for fall prevention, even in generally healthy and active older adults.
Adherence to the MIND-diet was neither associated with the odds of MCI, nor with hsCRP or IL-6 at baseline. Moreover, change in MIND-diet over three years was not associated with changes in hsCRP or IL-6.
Among generally healthy, active, and largely vitamin D replete, older adults, treatment with omega-3, vitamin D3, and/or SHEP had no benefit on MACE prevention. Only omega-3 supplementation changed lipid biomarkers, but with mixed effects.