Philip J Garry

• University of New Mexico

Objectives To determine 1) age-adjusted transition probabilities to worsening physical/cognitive function states, reversal to normal cognition/physical function, or maintenance of normal state; 2) whether these transitions are modulated by sex, BMI, education, hypertension (HTN), health status, or APOE4; 3) whether worsening gait speed preceded cog...

Objectives: Assess sex-specific nutritional intake and dietary habits of independently living older adults with normal and slow gait speeds. Design: New Mexico Aging Process Study, cross-sectional, secondary data analysis. Setting: Albuquerque, New Mexico USA. Participants: Three-hundred fifteen adults 60 years and older (194 women and 121 m...

Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function with aging. Although the term sarcopenia was first coined in 1989, its etiology is still poorly understood. Moreover, a consensus for defining sarcopenia continues to elude us. Sarcopenic changes in the muscle include losses in muscle fiber quantity and quality, alpha-motor neurons, protei...

In 1979, Dr. James S. Goodwin, M.D., assisted by Philip J. Garry, Ph.D., submitted a grant proposal to the United States Public Health Service/ National Institute on Aging (NIA) entitled, "A prospective study of nutrition in the elderly". This study was approved and funded by the NIA beginning in 1979. Initially, approximately 300 men and women ove...

The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) is a simple tool, useful in clinical practice to measure nutritional status in elderly persons. From its validation in 1994, the MNA has been used in hundreds of studies and translated into more then 20 languages. It is a well-validated tool, with high sensitivity, specificity, and reliability. An MNA score > o...

Recent epidemiological studies have shown that individuals who ingest alcohol regularly have a higher level of cognitive function and are less likely to develop dementia than those who abstain. The purpose of this study was to compare nine measures of cognitive function in drinkers compared to abstainers. A cross-sectional community survey was cond...

The purpose of our study is to assess the emotional responses to disclosing APO E genotype to asymptomatic older adults at increased risk for Alzheimer disease (AD). This is a longitudinal cohort study of volunteer subjects who were aged 50 years or over, asymptomatic for (AD), had a family history of AD, passed a psychological assessment, and part...

A decline in cognitive test scores in elderly persons can signal the beginning of a descent into dementia or may indicate only a short-term cognitive disturbance. It would be clinically useful to distinguish between the two outcomes and to identify characteristics of each. Four hundred thirty-seven community-dwelling elderly persons were given the...

Background. A decline in cognitive test scores in elderly persons can signal the beginning of a descent into dementia or may indicate only a short-term cognitive disturbance. It would be clinically useful to distinguish between the two outcomes and to identify characteristics of each. Methods. Four hundred thirty-seven community-dwelling elderly pe...

Use of nonvitamin, nonmineral dietary supplements among an elderly cohort was surveyed to determine which were the most frequently used, and to report potential medication/supplement interactions observed. A retrospective review of the use of 22 supplements and prescription/over-the-counter medications was collected annually from 1994 to 1999. Supp...

Significant associations between the lengths of a highly polymorphic dinucleotide (CA) repeat located within the human estrogen receptor beta (ESR2) gene on chromosome 14, bone mineral density (BMD) and androgen levels have been reported previously in premenopausal women. We measured the size of this microsatellite repeat in 226 healthy women (60-9...

Recent epidemiological studies have shown that individuals who ingest alcohol regularly have a lower prevalence of diabetes mellitus than those who abstain. The purpose of this study was to compare serum glucose and insulin concentrations between daily drinkers and abstainers stratified by diabetic status (participants with diabetes, impaired gluco...

The serum/plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentration, now recognized as an independent risk factor for accelerated atherosclerotic disease, is increased in overtly hypothyroid patients, and it decreases with thyroid replacement therapy. Whether or not individuals with subclinical hypothyroidism also increase their tHcy concentrations, and wheth...

To compare fasting serum total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations in a randomly selected sample of elderly (> or = 65 years of age) Hispanic and non-Hispanic White (NHW) men and women, to examine associations of tHcy with folate and vitamin B12, and then to correlate these with the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in these 4 ethnic/ gende...

Although primarily secreted by adipose cells, leptin, a polypeptide hormone that influences body weight, satiety and lipid metabolism, and its receptor are also expressed in human osteoblasts. Leptin plays a role in the central, hypothalamic modulation of bone formation, as well as locally within the skeleton by enhancing differentiation of bone ma...

The American Diabetes Association s Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus has made the recommendation that all individuals over the age of 45 years should be screened for diabetes every 3 years. This study was designed to determine the necessity for screening healthy elderly (> 65 years) this frequently using fas...

The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, predictive value and overall efficiency of serum cross-linked N-telopeptides of bone collagen (NTx) and aminoterminal procollagen extension propeptide (PINP) measurements for identifying women with decreased spine, femoral neck and total body bone mineral density (B...

Abstract In the past two decades, a number of geriatric assessment instruments have been developed to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of high-risk elderly patients; tools are available to assess physical health, functional ability, psychological health, and socioeconomic and environmental changes with age. However, too little attention has been...

The purpose of this investigation was to quantify the biologic, day-to-day variability and critical differences in serum levels of crosslinked collagen N-telopeptides (NTx), procollagen aminoterminal extension propeptides (PINP) and bone specific alkaline phosphatase (bAP) in healthy women. Seven blood samples were collected from 12 pre- and 15 pos...

To determine whether elderly individuals with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance are at increased risk for cognitive impairment compared with individuals with normal glucose tolerance. Elderly Hispanic individuals (n = 414) and non-Hispanic white individuals (n = 469) aged > or =65 years, randomly selected from the Medicare rolls of Bern...

The clinical interpretation of total body water (TBW) necessitates the availability of timely comparative reference data. The prediction of TBW volume in renal disease is critical in order to prescribe and monitor the dose of dialysis in the determination of Kt/V. In clinical practice, urea distribution (V) is commonly predicted from anthropometric...

The serum total homocysteine concentration (tHcy), an indicator of folate status and a possible risk factor for vascular disease, is elevated with impaired renal function and poor vitamin B-12 status, which are common in the elderly. Our objective was to determine the association between tHcy, folate intake, alcohol consumption, and other lifestyle...

To report on the prevalences of self-reported illnesses from the New Mexico Elder Health Survey. Randomized community-based cross-sectional survey of elderly (> or = 65 years of age) Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. Analysis of data from the 883 participants in the New Mexico Elder Health Survey. Complete data on 848 subjects were available for t...

The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalences of renal impairment, notably an elevation in serum urea nitrogen and/or serum creatinine concentration, in a randomly selected, biethnic population of Hispanic and non-Hispanic white men and women, and to determine the associations with coronary heart disease and its risk factors (diabetes, h...

The prevalence of malnutrition, which is relatively low in free-living elderly persons (5-10%), is considerably higher (30-60%) in hospitalized or institutionalized elderly persons. As a result, nutritional assessment should be part of routine clinical practice in elderly patients who are frail, sick or hospitalized. A comprehensive screening tool...

To investigate the relationships between nutritional status measured by a comprehensive nutritional assessment including anthropometric measurements, nutritional biological markers, evaluation of dietary intake, and the Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) nutrition screening tool. A prospective study. One hundred fifty-five older subjects (53 men and...

Introduction: Elderly people can be subdivided into three groups: healthy elderly persons (65-70% of the population), elderly subjects with diseases (about 5%) and frail old people. Frailty represents "age-related physiologic vulnerability resulting from impaired homeotasic stock and a reduced capacity of the organism to withstand stress". It coul...

A recently published and widely quoted modified food guide pyramid encourages persons over the age of 70 years to ingest eight glasses (2 liters) of fluids per day. We challenge the need for this much fluid intake and even question whether it may do more harm than good. Equal numbers of Hispanic and non-Hispanic white men and women were selected ra...

Serum levels of aminoterminal extension propeptides (PINP), the carboxyterminal telopeptide (ICTP), and the cross-linked N-telopeptides (NTx) of type I collagen were determined in 78 healthy, elderly men aged 76 +/- 5 years in 1993 and 1996 and compared with bone mineral density (BMD) measurements of their lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total body...

For middle aged and elderly subjects there is a concern that increased iron intake, especially heme iron associated with consumption of red meat, leads to increased iron stores resulting in disturbed glucose homeostasis and risk for cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of heme, n...

1) To compare serum vitamin B12, C and folate concentrations in a randomly selected sample of elderly (age 65 years or older) male and female Hispanics and nonHispanic whites (NHW) and 2) to examine associations between serum B12, C and folate concentrations compared to measures of cognitive and affective (depression) functions. Equal numbers of ma...

The development of sarcopenia is a complex multi-factorial process which begins in mid-life and accelerates after the age of 75 years. Although exercise, nutritional supplementation, hormone replacement and pro-inflammatory cytokine therapy may improve health status and reduce mortality, a better understanding of the complex interactions between th...

Pharmacogenomics, the study of genetic loci that modulate drug responsiveness, may help to explain why estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) has differential effects on serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in postmenopausal women who inherit distinct alleles of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE). We compared total-cholesterol, triglyceride, and li...

Cross-sectional studies have suggested that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels decline with aging. We have examined this putative decline in a longitudinal study using participants in the New Mexico Aging Process Study. 25OHD levels were measured in participants in whom serum samples were available between 1980 to 1982 and 1989 to 1994 (37 me...

To evaluate the association between hypothyroidism, and the health status of older Hispanic and non-Hispanic white (NHW) men and women. To accomplish this, we determined the prevalences of the treated and untreated conditions and examined the associations between an elevated serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and cognitive and affective (mood)...

Identification and comparison of frequently consumed foods and important food sources of energy, protein, total fat, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B-6, folate, and calcium of elderly Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. Dietary intake data were collected using a modified Health Habits and History Questionnaire (a food frequency questionnai...

Elderly men and women lose muscle mass and strength with increasing age. Decreased physical activity, hormones, malnutrition and chronic disease have been identified as factors contributing to this loss. There are few data, however, for their multivariate associations with muscle mass and strength. This study analyzes these associations in a cross-...

To compare the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and the effects of various risk factors, including alcohol consumption, on prevalence rates in a randomly selected sample of older Hispanic and non-Hispanic white (NHW) men and women. A cross-sectional study of equal numbers of Hispanic and NHW men and women, selected randomly from Health Ca...

Serum leptin concentrations are highly correlated with body fatness, but there is considerable variability among individuals after adjusting for differences in body fatness. Theoretically, sex hormone levels may influence serum leptin, since the levels are higher in women than in men independently of body fat. Increasing old age is associated with...

There are few data for associations of serum leptin with body fat, fat distribution, sex hormones, or fasting insulin in elderly adults. We hypothesized that the sex difference in serum leptin concentrations would disappear after adjustment for subcutaneous, but not visceral body fat. Serum leptin would not be associated with sex hormone concentrat...

The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) has recently been designed and validated to provide a single, rapid assessment of nutritional status in elderly patients in outpatient clinics, hospitals, and nursing homes. It has been translated into several languages and validated in many clinics around the world. The MNA test is composed of simple measureme...

Levels of aminoterminal propeptide (PINP) and the cross-linked carboxyterminal (ICTP) and aminoterminal (NTx) telopeptides of type I collagen were determined in the sera of 202 healthy women, 60-90 years of age, and correlated with densitometric measurements of their lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total body regions. Total skeleton bone mineral de...

Falls are a common occurrence in elderly persons, including relatively healthy, community-dwelling men and women. A significant percentage of falls result in soft-tissue injuries. Although some risk factors for falls have been identified, more research is needed on risk factors for injurious falls. In addition, there is little information from pros...

To compare the prevalences of type 2 diabetes, the various cardiovascular risk factors encompassing the insulin resistance syndrome (IRS), and coronary heart disease (CHD) in elderly Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic whites. Elderly Hispanics (n = 414) and non-Hispanic whites (n = 469), randomly selected from the Medicare rolls of Bernalillo Cou...

Muscle mass decreases with age, leading to “sarcopenia, ” or low relative muscle mass, in elderly people. Sarcopenia is believed to be associated with metabolic, physiologic, and functional impairments and disability. Methods of estimating the prevalence of sarcopenia and its associated risks in elderly populations are lacking. Data from a populati...

Although verbal and written instructions on how to record dietary intake are commonly used in research, little information has been published describing instructional methods or materials. In the New Mexico Aging Process Study, a longitudinal study of nutrition and aging, participants keep a 3-day diet record each year. Classroom instruction and wr...

The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalences of urinary abnormalities, notably proteinuria and microalbuminuria, in a randomly selected, biethnic population of Hispanic and nonHispanic white males and females and to determine the effects of diabetes, hypertension, and coronary heart disease on these prevalence rates. A survey of health...

The purpose of this paper is to report on the outcome of recruitment and participation rate in the New Mexico Elder Health Survey. This survey is the first community based epidemiological survey to examine health and health related issues of elderly (65 years or older) Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites in Bernalillo County (Albuquerque), New Mexico...

White matter hyperintensities in MRI of the brain are often seen in normal elderly subjects. Radiologically, these hyperintense regions are similar to those in symptomatic patients with subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (SAE). Our aim was to discriminate white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on MRI in patients with SAE from similar appearin...

One hundred and thirty-five initially healthy men and women older than 65 years of age were studied prospectively to identify factors associated with health outcomes. At study onset, measures of personality, social interaction, and health locus of control were obtained while participants were still healthy. A reliable health outcome measure was dev...

The DNA of 287 healthy white elderly volunteers in the New Mexico Aging Process Study, between 63 and 91 years of age, was examined for mutations of the HLA-H gene at nt 845 and nt 187. None were found to be homozygous for the 845A mutation and there were no gender differences in the percentage of the various mutations. The frequency of the 845A mu...

To test the hypothesis that one-leg balance is a significant predictor of falls and injurious falls. Analysis of data from a longitudinal cohort study. Healthy, community-living volunteers older than age 60 enrolled in the Albuquerque Falls Study and followed for 3 years (N = 316; mean age 73 years). Falls and injurious falls detected via reports e...

Nutritional intake appears to be an important factor contributing to aging. In the present study we describe changes in physical health related to nutritional intake among elderly persons in a 10-y longitudinal study. Among 304 healthy elderly participants (median age 72 y on entry into the study in 1980), 97 (34.2%) are still in good health 10 y l...

To identify the characteristics of elderly persons who develop a fear of falling after experiencing a fall and to investigate the association of this fear with changes in health status over time. A prospective study of falls over a 2-year period (1991-92). Falls were ascertained using bimonthly postcards plus telephone interview with a standardized...

Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated a decline in testosterone and free and bioavailable testosterone with age. This occurs in a majority of older persons without an increase in luteinizing hormone (LH), suggesting that a component of the testosterone decrease is due to secondary hypogonadism. To determine whether these findings could be dupli...

Folate fortification of bread and grains has been directed to prevent neural tube birth defects. Research has also challenged previous concepts of folate nutritional status and suggested that folate may play a role in reducing the risk of vascular disease. Although folate status of many elderly people is adequate according to traditional, hematolog...

Epidemiological studies of aging are usually confronted with the presence of numerous pathologies or environmental factors which make it difficult to identify the effects of aging individually. One way of reducing the variability among individuals is to use well defined criteria to select the study population. This is the choice that was made for t...

Associations between nutritional status and cognitive performance were examined in 137 elderly (aged 66-90 y) community residents. Participants were well-educated, adequately nourished, and free of significant cognitive impairment. Performance on cognitive tests in 1986 was related to both past (1980) and concurrent (1986) nutritional status. Sever...

Serum albumin concentrations decrease with age and values < 38 g/L are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and disability in the elderly. It is not clear to what extent the decreases are associated independently with changes in metabolism, dietary intake, physical activity, morbidity, or body composition. We examined associations of ser...

An elevated serum concentration of the metabolite, homocysteine (Hcys): 1) can indicate folate or vitamin B12 deficiency, 2) is an independent risk factor for vascular disease. The metabolite, methylmalonic acid (MMA), is elevated in deficiency of vitamin B12, but not folate. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of self-selected vi...

Associations of fat and muscle masses with bone mineral status were studied in 301 men and women aged > or = 65 y. Bone mineral and soft tissue composition were estimated by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Univariate correlations suggested that muscle is associated more closely than fat with bone mineral content (BMC) as well as with bone m...

Folate fortification of bread & grains is proposed to prevent neural tube birth defects. This could be a risk for the elderly by masking possible vitamin B-12 deficiency or a benefit by improving folate status & preventing elevated serum homocysteine, a vascular disease risk factor. The purpose of this study was: 1) to examine folate food sources i...

There is little information for age differences in body composition in elderly people > 65 years of age, especially for those > 80 years. As the proportion of people older than 65 years is expected to nearly double during the next few decades, this information is needed. Age differences in body composition and anthropometry were examined in 316 men...

We assessed changes in iron stores and iron absorption after repeat blood donations using a combination of biochemical measures of iron status: ferritin, hemoglobin, and transferrin saturation. Thirty-six volunteers with a mean (+/- SD) age of 67.7 +/- 3.7 y donated an average of 15 units of blood over 3.5 y. Initial iron stores were 12.45 +/- 3.09...

The purpose of this study was to determine if performance (copy, immediate, and 30-min recall) on the Rey-Osterrieth Figure deteriorates after age 70 and, if so, if it deteriorates differentially for the three conditions. Accuracy and approach to the drawing were scored in three age groups of healthy elderly subjects (ages 70 to 74, 75 to 79, 80 to...

To evaluate the concept of a predetermined "setpoint" for iron stores, 20 healthy elderly individuals (12 blood donors and 8 nondonors) were studied to examine the effects of changes in iron stores on iron absorption. Oral iron-absorption tests revealed a statistically significant increase (P < 0.001) in iron absorption in donors, 7.4 +/- 3.6% (mea...

To determine if the lower plasma ascorbic acid concentrations observed in males compared to females, and in the elderly in general, might be due to differences in renal clearances of ascorbic acid, tubular maximum reabsorptions (TmAA) and renal thresholds for ascorbic acid were determined on older (10 male, 10 female, aged 70-86 years) and younger...

This article has discussed current knowledge of the nutritional status of the healthy elderly population, possible nutritional risk with respect to individual nutrients, and how nutritional needs of the elderly compare with those of younger adults. Application of these findings to the total elderly population will involve the disciplines of geronto...

Body composition analysis in elderly persons > 65 y in age is considered problematic using hydrodensitometry (HD), total body water (TBW), or total body potassium (TBK) in classic two-compartment models due to age-related changes in bone mineral, fluid balance, and K concentration. HD assumes that the density of the fat-free mass is 1.10 g/cm3, whi...

Centralized adipose tissue (AT) distribution is associated with increased risk for non-insulin dependent diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in men and women.1 Most studies, however, have been conducted in middle-aged adults and, with the exception of post-menopausal women2, there is little reported information for elderly persons, despite evidenc...

Iron stores were assessed in 27 postmenopausal healthy women who donated five units of blood (approximately 485 mL/unit) over approximately 1 y. The mean (+/- SD) age was 67.7 +/- 4.0 y and the average time between successive blood donations was approximately 10 wk (range 8-30 wk). Steady-state iron stores at entrance were 10.59 +/- 3.88 mg/kg body...

Patterns of morbidity with age can be schematically represented in three situations: 1) as a progressive illness, such as Alzheimer's disease, leading to a relatively rapid functional decline. 2) as a catastrophic event, such as a stroke or hip fracture, leading to a decline in function with improvement after rehabilitation. 3) as normal aging with...

Measurements of cross-sectional muscle areas of the upper-arm and mid-thigh from MRI images were compared to corresponding estimates from anthropometric measurements of limb circumferences and skinfold thicknesses in 25 normal, healthy, elderly persons. The anthropometric method significantly overestimated actual muscle areas, and the amount of err...

Food selection of the healthy elderly may be influenced by life-styles, the food supply, and recommendations related to diet and disease. This study used food group analysis of 3-day diet records to examine red meat, poultry, and fish consumption by free-living, healthy elderly individuals. Dietary data were from 122 women and 97 men (median age =...

Dietary intakes and blood lipid concentrations were assessed in elderly men (n = 65) and women (n = 92) from 1980 through 1989. Mean age in 1980 was 70 y (range 60-84 y). Health and socioeconomic status was above that found in the general US elderly population. Cross-sectional and longitudinal changes in variables were determined by using least-squ...