Academic Journal
Nerve, muscle and adiposity: Associations with gait speed across adulthood in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.
| Τίτλος: | Nerve, muscle and adiposity: Associations with gait speed across adulthood in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Lanza MB; Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. Electronic address: marcel.lanza@gmail.com., Guerrero MB; Instituto de Matemática e Estatística, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG 38.400-902, Brazil., Gray VL; Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA., Simonsick EM; Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. |
| Πηγή: | Neurobiology of aging [Neurobiol Aging] 2026 Jun; Vol. 162, pp. 57-65. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Feb 23. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 8100437 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1558-1497 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01974580 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Neurobiol Aging Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: New York : Elsevier Original Publication: Fayetteville, N.Y. : Ankho International. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Aging*/physiology , Aging*/pathology , Adiposity*/physiology , Muscle, Skeletal*/pathology , Muscle, Skeletal*/physiology , Walking Speed*/physiology , Peripheral Nerves*/physiology , Peripheral Nerves*/pathology , Peripheral Nerves*/physiopathology , Gait*/physiology, Humans ; Male ; Female ; Longitudinal Studies ; Aged ; Baltimore ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Young Adult |
| Περίληψη: | Walking is fundamental to human mobility, and slowing gait speed is a widely recognized indicator of aging-related mobility decline. Although mobility decline in older adults has been associated with aging-related neural and morphological changes in muscle, the specific neural and morphological correlates of gait speed remain incompletely characterized. Thus, our primary aim was to quantify how peripheral nerve function, muscle cross-sectional area (MCSA) and intramuscular fat (IMAT) are related to gait speed across adulthood. We studied 898 participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), aged ≥ 20 years, with complete data on gait speed, body composition, MCSA, IMAT, and peripheral nerve function. Multivariable regression explained 29 % and 40 % of the variance in usual and rapid gait speed, respectively. Peripheral nerve measures (signal amplitude and conduction velocity) showed modest associations with both usual and rapid gait speed after mutual adjustment. In contrast, age, height, body roundness index (BRI), MCSA, and IMAT were independently associated with both gait speeds. Structural equation modelling identified MCSA and IMAT as the primary mediators of age-related gait decline, while nerve function played a smaller, task-specific role. Multi-group analysis revealed that these physiological mechanisms were stable across adulthood; however, the direct effect of age on rapid gait attenuated in the oldest-old, indicating that functional decline in this cohort is fully mediated by neuromuscular and morphological factors. Together, these findings indicate that peripheral nerve function contributes to gait speed across adulthood but plays a comparatively limited role relative to muscle morphology (MCSA and IMAT), which emerge as dominant physiological contributors to age-related mobility decline. (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no actual or potential conflicts of interest. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Gait speed; Intramuscular fat; Muscle size; Older adults; Peripheral nerve function; Structural equation modelling |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260227 Date Completed: 20260709 Latest Revision: 20260709 |
| Update Code: | 20260711 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2026.02.005 |
| PMID: | 41759304 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1558-1497 |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2026.02.005 |