Abstract Background Functional disability is a major public health concern in older adults, predicting adverse outcomes such as hospitalization, institutionalization, and mortality. While previous studies have linked metabolomic profiles to aging-related conditions, their relationship with functional disability remains unclear. Methods This study examined associations between plasma metabolomic profiles and functional disability in 1450 community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 years from the Seniors-ENRICA 2 cohort. Disability was assessed using the Katz Index for activities of daily living (ADL disability) and the Lawton-Brody Scale for instrumental activities of daily living (IADL disability). Twenty-seven metabolites quantified by high-throughput nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were included in the analyses. Firth logistic regression estimated cross-sectional and five-year longitudinal associations, adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Results Higher concentrations of tyrosine (odds ratio OR = 0.77; 95% confidence interval CI: 0.61–0.98), pyruvate (0.69; 0.50–0.95), and lactate (0.78; 0.61–0.98) were cross-sectionally associated with lower odds of ADL disability, whereas glycine (1.31; 1.05–1.64) and Glycoprotein A (GlycA) (1.47; 1.17–1.86) were linked to greater odds. After five years, higher lactate (1.17; 1.00–1.37) was associated with increased ADL disability, whereas creatinine predicted lower odds of ADL (0.80; 0.65–0.97) and IADL disability (0.68; 0.47–0.98). In incident disability analyses, higher creatinine (0.76; 0.62–0.94) and citrate (0.79; 0.66–0.94) concentrations predicted lower odds of ADL disability, while GlycA (1.36; 1.01–1.84) remained associated with higher odds of IADL disability. Conclusions These findings suggest that several plasma metabolites may serve as early biomarkers of functional decline and inform prevention strategies in older adults.
Pombo‐Jiménez et al. (Thu,) studied this question.