DYNAMICS OF HEALTH, AGING AND BODY COMPOSITION (HEALTH ABC) COORDINATING UNIT

流行病学、人口学和生物测量学内部实验室(EDB)和临床调查正在支持一项临床研究研究，即健康、老龄化和身体成分的动力学(Health ABC)。这项研究旨在了解更健康的老年人的功能下降情况，通过关注从精力充沛向虚弱过渡的绝大多数老年人，补充了预防健康和虚弱老年人功能衰退的研究努力。 健康ABC研究的主要目标涉及观察到，老年人身体成分的变化，特别是身体脂肪的增加以及瘦体重和骨矿物质的下降，是多种疾病导致残疾的共同途径。关于老年人体重和身体成分变化的模式和对健康的影响，还有许多悬而未决的问题。体重通常在一生中增加，直到中年后期，然后随着肌肉、脂肪和骨骼的变化，到老年时体重往往会下降。据推测，老年时肌肉和力量的加速丧失是导致残疾的原因。关于老年人体重及其与死亡率的关系的研究得出了相互矛盾的结果，导致了关于老年人体重的公共卫生建议的争议。很少有研究研究老年体重相关的发病率，特别是在非裔美国人中。

The intramural Laboratories of Epidemiology, Demography and Biometry (EDB) and Clinical Investigation are supporting a clinical research study, the Dynamics of Health, Aging and Body Composition (HEALTH ABC). This study, targeted to under-standing the decline in function of healthier older persons, complements research efforts in prevention of functional decline for healthy and frail older persons by focusing on the substantial majority of older persons in transition from vigor to frailty. The major objectives of the HEALTH ABC Study relate to observations that change in body composition in old age, particularly the increase in body fat and the decline in lean mass and bone mineral, represent a common pathway by which multiple diseases contribute to disability. There are many unanswered questions regarding the patterns and health impact of changes in weight and body composition in old age. Weight generally increases over the lifetime until late middle age, then tends to decrease into old age with changes in muscle, fat and bone. It has been postulated that the accelerated loss of muscle and strength in old age contributes to the onset of disability. Studies of weight and its relationship to mortality in older persons have yielded contradictory findings, leading to controversy regarding public health recommendations for weight in old age. Few studies have examined weight-related morbidity in old age, especially among African-Americans.