Serum Micronutrient Concentrations and Decline in Physical Function Among Older Persons

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Abstract
The decline in physical function that occurs with aging often represents the early stage of a continuum leading to disability and other important adverse outcomes such as institutionalization. For example, although the prevalence of disability in the United States declined from 1982 to 2004,1 the absolute number of disabled older US adults is projected to increase as the population ages over the next 2 decades,2 with a detrimental effect on the health-related costs and long-term care.3 Thus, disentangling the mechanisms underlying the disablement process has been identified as a high-research priority,4 and the assessment of physical function has become an essential feature of the comprehensive clinical evaluation of older persons.5 Standardized measures such as the Short Physical Performance Battery6 have been developed to study the etiology and progression of functional decline and disability.