Higher serum resistin levels and increased frailty risk in older adults: Implications beyond metabolic function

Background: Despite the pleiotropic role of resistin as an adipokine, its association with frailty—an indicator of biologic age and overall well-being in humans—remains largely unexplored. This study aims to investigate the potential of circulating resistin as a biomarker for frailty. Methods: The s...

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Main Authors: Beom-Jun Kim, Yunju Jo, Ji Yeon Baek, So Jeong Park, Hee-Won Jung, Eunju Lee, Il-Young Jang, Hyuk Sakong, Dongryeol Ryu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1279770725000442
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author Beom-Jun Kim
Yunju Jo
Ji Yeon Baek
So Jeong Park
Hee-Won Jung
Eunju Lee
Il-Young Jang
Hyuk Sakong
Dongryeol Ryu
author_facet Beom-Jun Kim
Yunju Jo
Ji Yeon Baek
So Jeong Park
Hee-Won Jung
Eunju Lee
Il-Young Jang
Hyuk Sakong
Dongryeol Ryu
author_sort Beom-Jun Kim
collection DOAJ
description Background: Despite the pleiotropic role of resistin as an adipokine, its association with frailty—an indicator of biologic age and overall well-being in humans—remains largely unexplored. This study aims to investigate the potential of circulating resistin as a biomarker for frailty. Methods: The study included 228 older adults aged 65 years or older who underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment. Frailty was evaluated using both the phenotypic frailty model by Fried and the deficit-accumulation frailty index (FI) by Rockwood. Serum resistin levels were measured using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: After adjusting for sex, age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol, exercise, diabetes, and serum creatinine, serum resistin levels were 52.2% higher in individuals with phenotypic frailty than in robust controls (P =  0.001) and showed a positive correlation with the Rockwood FI (P =  0.015). Furthermore, for every 1 standard deviation increase in serum resistin levels, the risk of frailty increased by 67% (P =  0.021). When participants were divided into four groups based on serum resistin levels, individuals in the highest quartile had a 38% higher FI and exhibited a 12.5-fold higher odds ratio for frailty compared to those in the lowest quartile (P =  0.016 and 0.024, respectively). Conclusion: These findings suggest that circulating resistin may serve as a candidate blood-based biomarker for frailty, encompassing the multifaceted physical, cognitive, and social dimensions, extending beyond its well-established role in metabolic regulation.
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issn 1760-4788
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publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Elsevier
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series The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging
spelling doaj-art-6611b91d4dd9496d8720055e23c91f132025-08-20T02:13:51ZengElsevierThe Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging1760-47882025-05-0129510052110.1016/j.jnha.2025.100521Higher serum resistin levels and increased frailty risk in older adults: Implications beyond metabolic functionBeom-Jun Kim0Yunju Jo1Ji Yeon Baek2So Jeong Park3Hee-Won Jung4Eunju Lee5Il-Young Jang6Hyuk Sakong7Dongryeol Ryu8Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, South Korea; Corresponding author.Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, South KoreaDivision of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, South KoreaAsan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, South KoreaDivision of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, South KoreaDivision of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, South KoreaDivision of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, South KoreaAsan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, South KoreaDepartment of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, South KoreaBackground: Despite the pleiotropic role of resistin as an adipokine, its association with frailty—an indicator of biologic age and overall well-being in humans—remains largely unexplored. This study aims to investigate the potential of circulating resistin as a biomarker for frailty. Methods: The study included 228 older adults aged 65 years or older who underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment. Frailty was evaluated using both the phenotypic frailty model by Fried and the deficit-accumulation frailty index (FI) by Rockwood. Serum resistin levels were measured using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: After adjusting for sex, age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol, exercise, diabetes, and serum creatinine, serum resistin levels were 52.2% higher in individuals with phenotypic frailty than in robust controls (P =  0.001) and showed a positive correlation with the Rockwood FI (P =  0.015). Furthermore, for every 1 standard deviation increase in serum resistin levels, the risk of frailty increased by 67% (P =  0.021). When participants were divided into four groups based on serum resistin levels, individuals in the highest quartile had a 38% higher FI and exhibited a 12.5-fold higher odds ratio for frailty compared to those in the lowest quartile (P =  0.016 and 0.024, respectively). Conclusion: These findings suggest that circulating resistin may serve as a candidate blood-based biomarker for frailty, encompassing the multifaceted physical, cognitive, and social dimensions, extending beyond its well-established role in metabolic regulation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1279770725000442ResistinFrailtyAgingBiomarkerAdipokine
spellingShingle Beom-Jun Kim
Yunju Jo
Ji Yeon Baek
So Jeong Park
Hee-Won Jung
Eunju Lee
Il-Young Jang
Hyuk Sakong
Dongryeol Ryu
Higher serum resistin levels and increased frailty risk in older adults: Implications beyond metabolic function
The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging
Resistin
Frailty
Aging
Biomarker
Adipokine
title Higher serum resistin levels and increased frailty risk in older adults: Implications beyond metabolic function
title_full Higher serum resistin levels and increased frailty risk in older adults: Implications beyond metabolic function
title_fullStr Higher serum resistin levels and increased frailty risk in older adults: Implications beyond metabolic function
title_full_unstemmed Higher serum resistin levels and increased frailty risk in older adults: Implications beyond metabolic function
title_short Higher serum resistin levels and increased frailty risk in older adults: Implications beyond metabolic function
title_sort higher serum resistin levels and increased frailty risk in older adults implications beyond metabolic function
topic Resistin
Frailty
Aging
Biomarker
Adipokine
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1279770725000442
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