title: No strong correlations between serum cytokine levels, CMV serostatus and hand-grip strength in older subjects in the Berlin BASE-II cohort.
abstract: Hand-grip strength is strongly correlated with measures of muscle mass and can be taken to predict morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between hand-grip strength and other markers associated with immune ageing, such as Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, leukocyte telomere length and serum levels of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory markers in the elderly. We have assessed grip strength with the Smedley Dynamometer in younger (22-37 years) and older (60-85 years) men and women in a sample of people living in Berlin (the BASE-II study). Serum cytokine levels were determined by flow-cytometry, CMV serostatus via ELISA and leukocyte telomere length by quantitative PCR. IL-1β levels tended to be negatively associated with grip strength, but we did not find a significant association with IL-6 levels. CMV-seropositivity was not associated with higher levels of IL-1β, IL-6 or TNF, nor with weaker grip strength in men or women at any age. A putative general measure of organismal ageing, overall leukocyte telomere length, was also found not to be associated with lower grip strength in the elderly. Hand-grip strength remains an important biomarker independent of CMV infection or shorter telomere lengths, and poorly reflected in peripheral pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, all of which have been associated in some studies with frailty and mortality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine II, Centre for Medical Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. david.goldeck@medizin.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldeck
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine II, Centre for Medical Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. graham.pawelec@uni-tuebingen.de.|School of Science and Technology, College of Arts and Science, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK. graham.pawelec@uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pawelec
authors.affiliation: Research Group on Geriatrics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.affiliation: Research Group on Geriatrics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Steinhagen-Thiessen
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine II, Centre for Medical Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Lilly
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Oettinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine II, Centre for Medical Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haehnel
authors.affiliation: Research Group on Geriatrics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.|Institute of Medical and Human Genetics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Ilja
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Demuth
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D000068884:Immunosenescence / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines
keywords: Ageing; CMV; CRP; Cytokines; Hand-grip strength; Telomere length