Background
Intrinsic capacity (IC) is a concept related to functionality that reflects healthy aging. ATPase inhibitory factor 1 (IF1) is a multifaceted protein that regulates mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), and may be involved in IC. The objective of this study is to investigate the association between plasma levels of IF1 and IC changes in community-dwelling older adults.
Methods
Community-dwelling older adults from the Multidomain Alzheimer Preventive Trial (MAPT Study) were enrolled in this study. A composite IC score was calculated based on four IC domains: locomotion, psychological dimension, cognition, and vitality (with data available annually over four years of follow-up). Secondary analyses were conducted on the sensory domain (with data available only for one year of follow-up). Mixed-model linear regression adjusted for confounders was conducted.
Results
A total of 1090 participants with usable IF1 values were included in the study (75.3 ± 4.4 years; 64% females). Compared to the lowest quartile, both the low- and high-intermediate IF1 quartiles were found to be cross-sectionally associated with greater composite IC scores across four domains (βlow-intermediate, 1.33; 95% CI 0.06–2.60 and βhigh-intermediate, 1.78; 95% CI 0.49–3.06). In the secondary analyses, the highest quartile was found to be associated with a slower decline in composite IC scores across five domains over one year (βhigh 1.60; 95% CI 0.06–3.15). The low- and high-intermediate IF1 quartiles were also found to be cross-sectionally associated with greater locomotion (βlow-intermediate, 2.72; 95% CI 0.36–5.08) and vitality scores (βhigh-intermediate, 1.59; 95% CI 0.06–3.12), respectively.
Conclusions
This study is the first to demonstrate that levels of circulating IF1, a mitochondrial-related biomarker, are associated with IC composite scores in both cross-sectional and prospective analyses among community-dwelling older adults. However, further research is needed to confirm these findings and elucidate the potential underlying mechanisms that may explain these associations.