MEASUREMENTS: Development Sample, Validation Sample I-BLSA, and Validation Sample II-LLFS participants self-administered the 10-item Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale. Validation Sample II-LLFS completed cognition measures (Trail Making Tests A and B), depressive symptomatology (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, CES-D), and global fatigue from two CES-D items. RESULTS: In the Development Sample and Validation Sample I-BLSA, confirmatory factor analysis showed all 10 items loaded on two factors: social and physical activities (fit indices: SRMSR = 0.064, RMSEA = 0.095, CFI = 0.91). PFS Mental scores had strong internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.85) and good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.78). Validation Sample II-LLFS PFS Mental scores demonstrated moderate concurrent and construct validity using Pearson (r) or Spearman (ρ) correlations against measures of cognition (Trail Making Tests A (r = 0.14) and B (r = 0.17) time), depressive symptoms (r = 0.31), and global fatigue (ρ = 0.21).Additionally, the PFS Mental subscale had strong convergent validity, discriminating according to established clinical or cognitive testing cut points, with differences in PFS Mental scores ranging from 3.9 to 7.6 points (all P < .001). All analyses were adjusted for family relatedness, field center, age, sex, and education. CONCLUSIONS: The validated PFS Mental subscale may be used in clinical and research settings as a sensitive, onepage self-administered tool of perceived mental fatigability in older adults.

Summary Tea is a worldwide drink with controversial effect on bone health. The sex-specific associations are unrevealed among general population. This study showed that prolonged moderate tea consumption benefited bone health in women, while no additional benefit with stronger tea. However, tea consumption was not associated with bone health in men. Introduction Tea consumption has been shown a potentially beneficial effect on bone health in postmenopausal women. However, little is known about such association in men, and whether stronger tea instead harms bone health due to elevated urinary excretion of calcium associated with caffeine in the tea. The aim of this study was to examine the association between various metrics of tea consumption and bone health. Methods The present study included 20,643 participants from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB), who have finished both baseline survey (2004–2008) and a re-survey (2013–2014). They were aged 38–86 years at re-survey. Tea consumption was self-reported at both baseline and re-survey. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using calcaneal quantitative ultrasound once at re-survey. Results Compared with non-consumers, prolonged weekly tea consumers in women was associated with higher calcaneus BMD measures, with β (95% CI) of 0.98 (0.22, 1.74) for BUA, 4.68 (1.74, 7.61) for SOS, and 1.95 (0.81, 3.10) for SI. Among prolonged weekly tea consumers, no linear increase in BMD measures with the amount of tea leaves added was observed. The SOS and SI were higher in consumers with tea leaves 3.0–5.9 g/day than in those with < 3.0 g/day, but were reduced to non-significant for those with ≥ 6.0 g/day. Tea consumption was not associated with calcaneus BMD measures in men. Conclusion Prolonged moderate tea consumption benefited bone health in women but not in men. For stronger tea consumption with more tea leaves added, neither benefit nor harm to bone health was observed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00198-018-4767-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Perceived physical fatigability is highly prevalent in older adults and associated with mobility decline and other health consequences. We examined the prognostic value of perceived physical fatigability as an independent predictor of risk of death among older adults. Methods Participants (N = 2,906), mean age 73.5 [SD, 10.4] years, 54.2% women, 99.7% white enrolled in the Long Life Family Study were assessed at Visit 2 (2014-2017) with 2.7 [SD, 1.0] years follow-up. The Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS), a 10-item, self-administered validated questionnaire (score range 0-50, higher=greater fatigability) measured perceived physical fatigability at Visit 2. Deaths post-Visit 2 through December 31, 2019 were identified by: family members notifying field centers, reporting during another family member’s annual phone follow-up, an obituary, or Civil Registration System (Denmark). We censored all other participants at their last contact. Cox proportional hazard models predicted mortality by fatigability severity, adjusted for family relatedness and other covariates. Results Age-adjusted PFS Physical scores were higher for those who died (19.1 [SE, 0.8]) compared to alive (12.2, [SE, 0.4]) overall, as well as across age strata (P&lt;.001), except for those 60-69 years (P=.79). Participants with the most severe fatigability (PFS Physical scores ≥25) were over twice as likely to die (HR, 2.33 [95% CI, 1.65 to 3.28]) compared to those with less severe fatigability (PFS Physical scores &lt;25) after adjustment. Conclusions This work underscores the utility of the PFS as a novel patient-reported prognostic indicator of phenotypic aging that captures both overt and underlying disease burden that predicts death.

BackgroundCardiovascular disease (CVD) and fatigue commonly co‐occur in older adults, yet the subjective nature of fatigue and its situational dependence leave the true magnitude of this association undefined.Methods and ResultsSix‐hundred and twenty‐five participants with no history of CVD (aged 68.1+12.0 years), from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging who underwent ≥2 clinic visits between 2007 and 2015 were classified according to sex‐specific predicted 10‐year CVD risk scores using the Framingham CVD risk score (Framingham) and the Pooled Cohort Equation at baseline. Perceived fatigability was assessed using the Borg rating of perceived exertion scale after a 5‐minute treadmill walk (0.67 m/s, 0% grade). Linear models were used to assess the association between baseline CVD risk and perceived fatigability an average of 4.5 years later, adjusted for demographics, behaviors, and medical history. In final models, a 5% higher baseline Pooled Cohort Equation score was associated with greater perceived fatigability at follow‐up (β=0.13 rating of perceived exertion, P=0.008). Stratified analyses suggested this association was stronger among those aged ≤70 years and those with obesity. Of the individual CVD risk score components, older age was most strongly associated with perceived fatigability (β=0.48, P<0.001), followed by women (β=0.11, P=0.002), and treated hypertension (β=0.11, P=0.003). There was no association with the Framingham risk score.ConclusionsPerceived fatigability was higher among participants with greater CVD risk measured using the Pooled Cohort Equation risk score. The strong associations with hypertension and obesity suggest prevention and promotion of cardiovascular health may also lower perceived fatigability, particularly among those aged ≤70 years or living with obesity.

Background: Fatigue, inflammation, and physical activity (PA) are all independently associated with gait speed but their directionality is not fully elucidated.Aims: Evaluate the bidirectional associations amongst fatigue, inflammation, and PA on gait speed. Methods:This cross-sectional study included probands (n=1,280, aged 49-105) and offspring (n=2,772, aged 24-88) in the Long Life Family Study. We assessed gait speed, fatigue with the question "I could not get going", inflammation using fasting interleukin-6 (IL-6) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), and self-reported PA as walking frequency in the past two weeks. The two generations were examined separately using linear mixed modeling.Results: Lower fatigue, lower IL-6, and greater PA were all associated with faster gait speed in both generations (all p<0.05); lower CRP was only associated with faster gait speed in the