NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older adults who maintain their weight over time may have a lower death risk than those who either gain or shed pounds, a new report suggests.

Researchers found that among the older men and women they followed over several years, "weight stability" was associated the lowest risk of death from any cause, compared with weight loss or gain. And this was true whether participants had a low or high body mass index to begin with, they report in the July 15th issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The findings suggest that for older adults, weight change over time is a better health indicator than any one-time measurement, according to the study authors, led by Dr. Grant W. Somes of the University of Tennessee in Memphis.

Somes and his colleagues studied about 4,500 adults aged 60 and older who had isolated systolic hypertension, a type of high blood pressure relatively common in older adults. Participants were followed for 4.5 years, on average.

The investigators found that weight stability during this time was associated with a lower death risk, while weight loss of at least 1.5 pounds a year was tied to an increased death risk--as was weight gain of at least a pound per year. This link between unstable weight and death risk remained when the researchers factored in participants' smoking habits, age, sex and cardiovascular health.

A high body mass index in younger people raises the risk of diabetes, heart disease and other serious health conditions. But for the elderly, low weight and weight loss is often associated with illness. In this study, older men and women who started off at a low body mass, as well as those who lost weight, faced an increased death risk. Somes and colleagues note, however, that their data do not indicate whether participants' weight loss was "voluntary" or "involuntary."

But, they conclude, the study results do suggest that, regardless of their original weight, older adults who have either a continuing weight gain or weight loss may face a higher death risk and "should be monitored closely."

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology 2002;156:132-138.

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