ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2021
Association Between Variation in Red Cell Size and Multiple Aging-Related Outcomes.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of biological age acceleration with muscle aging phenotype in young and middle-aged adults: a prospective cohort study.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Age-Related Human Adaptation to Extreme Climatic Factors and Environmental Conditions.Biology · 2025Article
- Laser speckle particle sizer (SPARSE) informs the size distribution of tissue granularities.Science advances · 2025Article
- High red blood cell distribution width associated with incident frailty in patients with cardiometabolic diseases: A longitudinal study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Red Blood Cells and Human Aging: Exploring Their Biomarker Potential.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Comparing Nanomechanical Properties and Membrane Roughness Along the Aging of Human Erythrocytes.Methods and protocols · 2025Article
- Article
- Red blood cell distribution width to albumin ratio (RAR) is associated with low cognitive performance in American older adults: NHANES 2011-2014.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Predicting In-Hospital Fall Risk Using Machine Learning With Real-Time Location System and Electronic Medical Records.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Article
- Hemoglobin-to-red blood cell distribution width ratio: a new insight into cognitive protection for obese individuals.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- A biological age model based on physical examination data to predict mortality in a Chinese population.iScience · 2024Article
- Article
- Red cell distribution width and mortality in older patients with frailty in the emergency department.BMC emergency medicine · 2023Article
- Joint inference of physiological network and survival analysis identifies factors associated with aging rate.Cell reports methods · 2022Article
- Article
- Red cell distribution width, anemia, and lower-extremity physical function among rural-dwelling older adults.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2022Article
- Cellular enlargement - A new hallmark of aging?Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2022Review
- Red Cell Distribution Width and Dementia Among Rural-Dwelling Older Adults: The MIND-China Study.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWe tested whether greater variation in red blood cell size, measured by red cell distribution width (RDW), may predict aging-related degenerative conditions and therefore, serve as a marker of biological aging.
methodsThree thousand six hundred and thirty-five community-dwelling older men were enrolled in the prospective Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study. RDW was categorized into 4 groups (≤13.0%, 13.1%-14.0%, 14.1%-15.0%, and ≥15.1%). Functional limitations, frailty, strength, physical performance, and cognitive function were measured at baseline and 7.4 years later. Falls were recorded in the year after baseline; hospitalizations were obtained for 2 years after baseline. Mortality was assessed during a mean of 8.3 years of follow-up.
resultsParticipants with greater variability in red cell size were weaker, walked more slowly, and had a worse cognitive function. They were more likely to have functional limitations (35.2% in the highest RDW category vs 16.0% in the lowest, p < .001) and frailty (30.3% vs 11.3%, p < .001). Those with greater variability in red cell size were more likely to develop new functional limitations and to become frail. The risk of having 2 or more falls was also greater (highest 19.2% vs lowest 10.3%, p < .001). The risk of hospitalization was higher in those with the highest variability (odds ratio [95% confidence interval], 1.8 [1.3-2.5]) compared with the lowest. Variability in red cell size was related to total and cause-specific mortality.
conclusionGreater variability in red cell size is associated with diverse aging-related outcomes, suggesting that it may have potential value as a marker for biological aging.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.