Krzysztof Borysławski

Height loss with advancing age in a hospitalized population of Polish men and women: magnitude, pattern and associations with mortality

Abstract The connection between the rate of height loss in older people and their general health status has been well documented in the medical literature. Our study was aimed at furthering the characterization of this interrelationship in the context of health indices and mortality in a hospitalized population of Polish adults. Data were collated from a literature review and from a longitudinal study of aging carried out in the Polish population which followed 142 physically healthy inmates, including 68 men and 74 women, for at least 25 years from the age of 45 onwards. Moreover, cross-sectional data were available from 225 inmates, including 113 men and 112 women. These subjects were confined at the same hospital. ANOVA, t-test, and regression analysis were employed. The results indicate that the onset of height loss emerges in the fourth and five decade of life and there is a gradual acceleration of reduction of height at later stages of ontogeny in both sexes. Postmenopausal women experience a more rapid loss of height compared with men. The individuals who had higher rate of loss of height (≥3 cm/decade) tend to be at greater risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. In conclusion, our findings suggest that a systematic assessment of the rate of loss of height can be useful for clinicians caring for elderly people because of its prognostic value in terms of morbidity and mortality.

The association between total leukocyte count and longevity: Evidence from longitudinal and cross-sectional data.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between age-dependent changes in total leukocyte count (TLC) and certain selected differential counts expressed as frequencies (granulocytes, band cells, eosinophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes) and longevity in physically healthy men and women aged 45+. Longitudinal data on cell counts from 142 subjects (68 men and 74 women; all aged 45-70 and examined for 25 years) were compared with cross-sectional data from 225 subjects (113 men and 112 women; this group was divided into four categories of average lifespan; i.e.: 53, 63, 68, and 76+ years of age). ANOVA, t-test, and regression analysis were employed. Secular changes in leukocyte count were controlled. Men had continuously higher TLC compared with women. Moreover, sex differences in patterns of changes with age were found. The longitudinal assessment revealed a U-shaped pattern of changes in TLC in men (y=0.0026x(2)-0.2866x+14.4374; R(2)=0.852) and women (y=0.0048x(2)-0.5386x+20.922; R(2)=0.938), whereas the cross-sectional comparison showed an inverted U-shaped pattern in men (y=-0.0021x(2)+0.2421x; R(2)=0.417) and women (y=-0.0017x(2)+0.2061x; R(2)=0.888). In general, the comparison of longitudinal and cross-sectional data on changes with age in TLC indicates that longevity favors individuals with lower yet normal TLC and this correlation is more pronounced in men. In conclusion, our findings are in line with previous longitudinal studies of aging and suggest that lower TLC within the normal range (4.0-10.0 × 10(3)μL(-1)) can be a useful predictor of longevity in physically healthy individuals.

Longitudinal and cross-sectional changes with age in selected anthropometric and physiological traits in hospitalized adults: an insight from the Polish Longitudinal Study of Aging (PLSA)

Abstract Longitudinal studies of aging concerning individuals with comparable lifestyle, diet, health profile, socioeconomic status, and income remain extraordinarily rare. The purposes of our ongoing project are as follows: (i) to collect extensive data on biological and medical aspects of aging in the Polish population, (ii) to determine factors affecting the rate and course of aging, (iii) to understand how aging unfolds as a dynamic and malleable process in ontogeny, and (iv) to find novel predictors of longevity. Our investigation followed 142 physically healthy asylum inmates, including 68 males and 74 females, for at least 25 years from the age of 45 years onward. Cross-sectional assessment involved 225 inmates, including 113 males and 112 females. All the patients lived for a very long time under similar and good environmental conditions at the hospital in Cibórz, Lubuskie Province. They maintained virtually the same daily schedule and lifestyle. The rate and direction of changes with age in selected anthropometric and physiological traits were determined using ANOVA, t-test, and regression analysis. There were sex differences in the rate and pattern of age-related changes in certain characteristics such as relative weight, red blood cell count, monocyte count, thymol turbidity value, systolic blood pressure, and body temperature. Body weight, the body mass index (BMI), and total bilirubin level increased with advancing age, while body height decreased with age in both sexes. In conclusion, the aging process was associated with many regressive alterations in biological traits in both sexes but the rate and pattern of these changes depended on biological factors such as age and sex. There were only few characteristics which did not change significantly during the period under study. On the basis of comparison between the pattern of longitudinal changes with aging and the pattern of cross-sectional changes with age in the analyzed traits, we were able to predict which pattern of changes is associated with longer lifespan.

Contemporary views on human aging and longevity

Abstract Aging is currently stimulating intense interest of both researchers and the general public. In developed countries, the average life expectancy has increased by roughly 30 years within the last century, and human senescence has been delayed by around a decade. Although aging is arguably the most familiar aspect of human biology, its proximate and ultimate causes have not been elucidated fully and understood yet. Nowadays there are two main approaches to the ultimate causes of aging. These are deterministic and stochastic models. The proximate theories constitute a distinct group of explanations. They focus on mechanistic causes of aging. In this view, there is no reason to believe that there is only one biological mechanism responsible for aging. The aging process is highly complex and results from an accumulation of random molecular damage. Currently, the disposable soma theory (DST), proposed by Thomas Kirkwood, is the most influential and coherent line of reasoning in biogerontology. This model does not postulate any particular mechanism underpinning somatic defense. Therefore, it is compatible with various models, including mechanistic and evolutionary explanations. Recently, however, an interesting theory of hyper-function of mTOR as a more direct cause of aging has been formulated by Mikhail Blagosklonny, offering an entirely different approach to numerous problems and paradoxes in current biogerontology. In this view, aging is quasi-programmed, which means that it is an aimless continuation of developmental growth. This mTOR-centric model allows the prediction of completely new relationships. The aim of this article is to present and compare the views of both parties in the dispute, based on the results of some recent experimental studies, and the contemporary knowledge of selected major aspects of human aging and longevity

Association of serum bilirubin with longevity: Evidence from a retrospective longitudinal study and cross-sectional data

Abstract Bilirubin is a potent antioxidant and an important anti-inflammatory factor. Therefore, there has been an increasing focus on serum bilirubin as a negative risk factor of cardiovascular mortality in men and an indicator of improved survival in both sexes, but the direct mechanisms of these links and the causes of sex differences are not well understood. Moreover, the evidence from longitudinal studies on effects of bilirubin on longevity is limited. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed two groups of older adults to explore age-dependent changes in serum bilirubin levels and their associations with long-term survival in both sexes. Longitudinal data from 142 individuals (68 men and 74 women) aged 45 to 70 years were compared with cross-sectional data from 225 individuals (113 men and 112 women). The latter group was divided into four categories of survival, i.e. 53, 63, 68, and 76+ based on data on lifespan. ANOVA, t-test, and regression analysis were run. The analysis of the longitudinal data showed an increase in serum total bilirubin levels in men (0.3038e0.093x, R2 = 0.667) and women (0.1838e0.0187x, R2 = 0.950), while the analysis of cross-sectional data revealed a U-shaped pattern of age-related changes in men (0.001x2 - 0.1263x + 4.4524, R2 = 0.999) but an inverted U-shaped pattern in women (0.0006x2 + 0.072x - 1.6924, R2 = 0.195). On balance, these results suggest that elevated but normal bilirubin levels might confer a survival advantage in older men but not women. Alternatively, the positive relationship between serum total bilirubin and lifespan was not causal but coincidental. Further studies are needed to elucidate the direct mechanisms of the association between serum bilirubin levels and longevity in elderly people of both sexes.

A comparison of sex identification methods based on lip furrow pattern

Abstract The objective of the study was to specify the method with the highest probability of correct sex identification based on lip furrow pattern. Three methods were verified: Vahanwala’s method, identification based on the mid-section of lower lip print and our own method. The examined group included 242 persons aged 15-30 years, 68.6% females and 31.4% males. Cheilograms were taken with the method proposed by Vanahwala, modified in such a way that the prints of lower and upper lips were taken separately. The lip furrow patterns were classified according to Suzuki and Tsuchihashi, modified to include horizontal furrows which were considered by Renaud. In all the quadrants patterns II, III and VI prevailed among males and patterns I, I’ and II among females. Females were more frequently diagnosed correctly than males. Our method in which all the lip print was analysed without division into quadrants was the most effective, while Vahanwala’s method was the least so.

Association between body size and selected hematological parameters in men and women aged 45 and above from a hospitalized population of older adults: an insight from the Polish Longitudinal Study of Aging (1960–2000)

Abstract In elderly people, anemia occurs with increasing frequency with each advancing decade and can be a harbinger of very serious health conditions, including gastrointestinal bleeding, gastric and duodenal ulcers, and cancer. Therefore, age-dependant changes in hematological parameters deserve special attention. Nonetheless, very few longitudinal studies of aging have focused on possible associations between basic anthropometric characteristics and hematological parameters in older people. Here, we present some evidence that body size can be associated with red blood cell count as well as some other selected hematological parameters in adults aged 45 to 70 years. Longitudinal data on anthropometric and hematological parameters have been obtained from physically healthy residents at the Regional Psychiatric Hospital for People with Mental Disorders in Cibórz, Lubuskie Province, Poland (142 individuals, including 68 men and 74 women). The residents who took psychoactive drugs were excluded from the study. To evaluate the studied relationships, three anthropometric traits were used and three dichotomous divisions of the study sample were made. The medians of body height, body weight, and body mass index at the age of 45 years were used to divide the sample into: shorter and taller, lighter and heavier, and slimmer and stouter individuals, respectively. Student’s t-test, Pearson’s correlation, and regression analysis were employed. The results of the present study suggest that the relationship between body size and red blood cell count is slightly more pronounced in men and its strength depends on age. However, the correlations between body size and red blood cell count proved to be weak in both sexes. With aging, the strength of the relation decreased gradually, which might have been caused by the aging-associated changes in the hematopoietic system, anemia, or was an artifact. Further studies are needed to elucidate the unclear association between body size and hematological parameters in older adults.

Understanding the links between month of birth, body height, and longevity: why some studies reveal that shorter people live longer – further evidence of seasonal programming from the Polish population

Abstract There is a lack of agreement in the literature as to whether adult height depends on month of birth and whether height affects lifespan. Additionally, the relationship between stature and longevity involves conflicting findings and the results remain mixed due to several confounders, such as: year of birth, somatotype, relative body weight, genetic inheritance, diet, diseases, etc. Here, we hypothesize that the season of birth effect can also be involved in shaping the mysterious link between body height and longevity. To assess the links between month of birth, adult height, and longevity in the Polish population, data on 848,860 individuals, of whom 483,512 were men (57%) and 365,348 were women (43%), born in the years 1896-1988 and died in the years 2004-2008, were collected from the ‘PESEL’ database and signalments in the censuses obtained from identity card offices throughout Poland. ANOVA and the LSD test were performed. A significant relationship between month of birth and lifespan was found. Individuals born in autumn and winter months lived significantly longer than those who were born in the middle of the year (May). The amplitudes of lifespan were 16 months in men and 14 months in women. As expected, subjects of both sexes born in autumn and winter months were significantly shorter than their peers born around the middle of the year. In conclusion, the results of the study not only corroborate the theory of seasonal programming of longevity and support the idea that some undetermined factors from early stages of ontogeny and associated with season of birth have long-term effects on phenotype in later life in terms of adult height and longevity, but also bear out the hypothesis that month of birth can be another important confounding factor with respect to the relationship between adult height and longevity.

Secular trends in body weight and length of children aged 0–2 years. Longitudinal study of five consecutive birth cohorts between 1964–2003 from Wrocław, Poland

Abstract The aim of this work is to evaluate the intensity of possible secular trends among the five subsequent cohorts of Wrocław (Poland) children aged 0, 6, 12 and 24 months. This document describes secular changes in the body length, weight and the Rohrer’s index. Material: Research material represent the longitudinal studies of five consecutive birth cohorts. The first study involved children born during 1963-1965, and the last in 2003-2005. All of the studies were related to the same social group and were conducted using the same methodology. There are differences in the intensity and direction of the secular trends in children depending on their age. In both sexes the body length of newborns kept increasing until the end of the nineties and decreased in the last decade. The body weight did not change during the 40-year period. This suggests an important role of maternal regulator in fetal development and therefore no clear response to external environmental factors. Secular changes such as the body length and weight, which are the most adequate to the economic changes in Poland, were observed in children aged 6 and 12 months. It may be a result of their highest ecosensitivity during this period. However, there have not been any clear trends observed in the 24 months age group. This may be due to the increasing participation of genetic factors in the development of the child.

Effects of aging on the function of the urinary system: longitudinal changes with age in selected urine parameters in a hospitalized population of older adults

Abstract Although normal aging does not have a pernicious effect on the homeostasis of fluids, renal reserve in elderly people can be depleted. The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationship between longitudinal changes with age in basic urine parameters (specific gravity and pH) in older men and women, depending on their body height and relative body weight. Longitudinal data on these two quantitative traits of the urine were available for 142 physically healthy individuals, including 68 men and 74 women. All subjects were 45 years of age at the beginning and 70 at the end of the period under investigation. All measurements were taken in accordance with internationally accepted requirements. Specific gravity was assessed using a hydrometer, and pH was measured using a pH meter. ANOVA, t-test, and regression analysis were performed. No significant sex differences in specific gravity or urine pH were observed. In both sexes, urine specific gravity decreased with age according to exponential model of regression. In men, there was a gradual increase in the pH of the urine until age 65, and the best fitting regression model was polynomial. In women, on the other hand, there was an exiguous decrease in urine pH throughout the period under study, and the best fitting regression model proved to be exponential. As the process of renal aging commences relatively early in ontogeny and manifests itself in many structural and functional changes, urinalysis and other more sophisticated methods of diagnosis of renal diseases are essential for proper assessment of health status of adults and older individuals. The rate of age-related changes in the analyzed traits of the urine was commensurate in both sexes, thereby revealing no evidence of significant sex differences in terms of renal aging in the period between 45 and 70 years of age.