The impact of multimorbidity on resting metabolic rate in community-dwelling women over a ten-year period: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition, health & aging health & aging, 2017-07, Vol.21 (7), p.781-786
• Main Authors: Nagel, A., Jungert, A., Spinneker, A., Neuhäuser-Berthold, Monika
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Basal Metabolism; Body Composition; Body Mass Index; Calorimetry, Indirect; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Electric Impedance; Exercise; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Geriatrics/Gerontology; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolism; Middle Aged; Multimorbidity; Neurosciences; Nutrition; Older people; Primary Care Medicine; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life Research; Surveys and Questionnaires; Waist Circumference; Womens health
• ISSN: 1279-7707; 1760-4788
• DOI: 10.1007/s12603-016-0840-9

Objectives Ageing has been associated with increasing multimorbidity. This study investigated whether the number of diseases is a predictor of resting metabolic rate (RMR) and its long-term changes in community-dwelling elderly women. Subjects and Design Cross-sectional and longitudinal data, obtained over ten years with repeated follow-ups, from 180 women aged 60–86 years and with a BMI of 18–43 kg/m 2 at baseline were analyzed. Measurements RMR was measured using indirect calorimetry and body composition by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Diagnosed diseases were assessed by a questionnaire comprising 23 disease categories. Subjects with 0–2 diseases were classified as relatively healthy and with > 2 diseases as multimorbid. Results At baseline, relatively healthy (N = 75) and multimorbid (N = 105) women did not differ in RMR. During the ten-year follow-up, the median (range) number of diseases increased from 2 (0–2) to 4 (0–8) in relatively healthy and from 5 (3–11) to 7 (3–15) in multimorbid women. In the longitudinal analyses, only women who were multimorbid at baseline showed a significant increase in RMR of 31 kJ/d per additional disease (P = 0.015), adjusted for fat-free mass, fat mass, waist circumference and age. Conclusion Increasing multimorbidity in community-dwelling women is associated with an increase in RMR independently of body composition and age.