The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences最新文献

{"title":"Analysis of blood-based DNA methylation scores reveals associations with shared cohabitation duration in cohabiting pairs.","authors":"Joshua Stevenson-Hoare, Martin Stoffel, Ben Schöttker, Bernd Holleczek, Judith Zaugg, Beate Ditzen, Hermann Brenner","doi":"10.1093/gerona/glag036","DOIUrl":"10.1093/gerona/glag036","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Individuals who share their environment for long periods of time, that is, spouses, are likely to share behaviors and exposures, and longer spouse-pair cohabitation durations have been suggested to increase methylation pattern similarity on a methylome-wide scale. Risk scores and aging clocks based on blood DNA methylation use subsets of the methylome that share functional associations with disease and phenotype outcomes to estimate exposure and disease-specific epigenetic effects. By using the CpG sites contained within methylation risk scores and aging clocks, it is possible to examine functionally-linked methylation patterns of long-term shared exposure effects. In a population cohort of paired adults, we observed that methylation disease and phenotype risk scores show no significant correlation between partners, and neither do aging clocks after adjustment for age, which is already correlated in pairs. We also did not find evidence of an absolute difference in scores being significantly associated with cohabitation duration. However, when we examined the correlation in normalized methylation values between partners, we observed that correlations were higher in pairs with longer cohabitation durations for many, but not all, functionally-linked CpG sets. This supports the hypothesis that shared cohabitation's association with methylome-wide similarity in pairs is the result of many shared exposures, not a generic effect of cohabitation. Further research is required to establish the precise exposure-methylation links implicated.</p>","PeriodicalId":94243,"journal":{"name":"The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147328777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Monocyte Epigenetic Age Acceleration is Linked to Non-Somatic Depressive Symptoms in Women with and Without HIV.","authors":"Nicole Beaulieu Perez, Ke Xu, Yanxun Xu, Lang Lang, Kathryn Anastos, Maria L Alcaide, Mardge Cohen, Sadeep Shrestha, Andrew Edmonds, Jacquelyn Meyers, Seble Kassaye, Igho Ofotokun, Gypsyamber D'Souza, Bradley Aouizerat, Leah H Rubin","doi":"10.1093/gerona/glag083","DOIUrl":"10.1093/gerona/glag083","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Depression disproportionately affects women living with HIV, yet symptom heterogeneity and the lack of observable biomarkers can impede detection. Accelerated aging of monocytes-key innate immune cells-may contribute to depression, particularly in this population. A DNA methylation clock, MonoDNAmAge, estimates monocyte biological age and has shown evidence of epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) in women with HIV. Here, we examine MonoDNAmAge as a biomarker of depression in women with and without HIV, differentiating non-somatic from somatic symptom domains. DNA methylation data and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores were available from 440 Women's Interagency HIV Study participants. Two biological age estimates (HorvathDNAmAge and MonoDNAmAge) were calculated and orthogonalized with chronological age. In the total sample and subsamples stratified by HIV status, we used multiple linear regression to assess how EAAMono and EAAHorvath were associated with depressive symptoms. Standardized β coefficients are reported. The sample included 261 women with HIV (mean chronological age = 43.7 (8.9) years; 38% Black; 48% Hispanic) and 179 women without HIV (mean chronological age = 39.5 (10.0) years; 31% Black; 49% Hispanic). In the overall sample, EAAMono was associated with the non-somatic depressive symptom domain (β = 0.125, p = 0.018), and anhedonia specifically (β = 0.354, p = 0.007), adjusting for HIV, race, and ethnicity. This pattern persisted in the subsample with HIV (β = 0.112, p = 0.085). EAAHorvath was not associated with depression severity or symptom domains. Monocyte aging may represent a sensitive biomarker of non-somatic depression symptoms in women with HIV. The dynamics of monocyte aging and depression warrant further study to clarify mechanistic links.</p>","PeriodicalId":94243,"journal":{"name":"The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147517927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Atlas of human cerebellar aging: nonlinear molecular trajectories reveal multidimensional mechanisms underlying cognitive and motor function regulation.","authors":"Xiuling Ma, Likun Zhao, Hongxin Pan, Zhongwen Feng, Jianlin Lin, Junjun Ji, Junrong Li, Xiaoxia Liu, Jinfeng Wang, Xijun Tang, Kefeng Li","doi":"10.1093/gerona/glag022","DOIUrl":"10.1093/gerona/glag022","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The cerebellum, traditionally recognized for motor coordination, may also contribute to cognitive and emotional regulation, as recent evidence indicates. However, the molecular and structural changes in the human cerebellum during healthy aging remain poorly understood. This study systematically investigated the molecular trajectories and structural alterations in the human cerebellum across the adult lifespan (20-80 years) by integrating cerebella transcriptomic data from 456 non-disease brains and MRI structural neuroimaging data from 264 disease-free subjects. Fuzzy clustering analyses uncovered nonlinear expression trajectories involving synaptic plasticity, metabolic regulation, and protein homeostasis, highlighting multiple critical biological turning points across different age periods. Differential gene expression analyses identified early downregulation of immediate early genes (eg, FOS, NPAS4, EGR1-3) and sustained activation of stress-response pathways changes that precede observable functional decline. Moreover, we identified an integrated \"synaptic plasticity-stress homeostasis\" module, where immediate early genes and heat shock proteins exhibit coordinated regulation whose efficiency progressively declines with age. MRI analyses showed a pronounced acceleration of cerebellar gray matter (GM) loss after age 70, with multiple subregions affected, highlighting the nonlinear trajectory of cerebellar structural aging. In combination with the transcriptomic findings, these results indicate that cerebellar aging comprises complex, stage-dependent molecular alterations accompanied by GM reductions in later decades. This collective evidence advances our understanding of cerebellar aging biology and highlights the synaptic-stress module as a promising molecular axis that may inform future strategies to support cerebellar function in older adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":94243,"journal":{"name":"The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146127618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Associations of common infections with frailty and mortality in two UK cohort studies.","authors":"Demelza Smeeth, Charlotte Warren-Gash, Rebecca E Green, Julia Butt, Tim Waterboer, Alun D Hughes, Nishi Chaturvedi, Dylan M Williams","doi":"10.1093/gerona/glag046","DOIUrl":"10.1093/gerona/glag046","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Some common infections are associated with poorer age-related health outcomes; however, findings are limited to a small number of pathogens and frequently inconclusive. This study aimed to expand the range of pathogens investigated in relation to frailty and mortality in older age.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We investigated relationships between seropositivity for 18 viruses, bacteria and protozoa with concurrent frailty and prospective mortality in middle-aged and older adults within two UK population-based cohorts: UK Biobank (N = 9427; aged 40-70 years) and Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (N = 1791; aged 60-65 years). Multiplex serological assays were used to identify seropositivity for each pathogen and frailty was assessed using a frailty index measuring the accumulation of age-related health deficits. Mortality was determined from linked administrative records.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Adjusting for sex, age, income and education, previous infection with Toxoplasma gondii ((β = 0.77%; 95% CI, 0.42-1.11) and Helicobacter pylori (0.63%; 95% CI, 0.28-0.97) were associated with higher frailty equivalent to 3.8 or 3.1 years of aging, as was inflammation-weighted pathogen burden (0.41%/SD, 95% CI, 0.25-0.57; 0.42%/SD, 95% CI, 0.26-0.58). Previous infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, human herpes simplex virus 1 and cytomegalovirus were associated with increased frailty after adjustment for sex and age, although relationships were confounded by socioeconomic circumstances. No common infections were robustly associated with mortality.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our results indicate that infection with H. pylori and T. gondii, and the combined burden of infection may detrimentally impact ageing health. These pathogens may warrant targeting beyond current clinical measures to mitigate the development of frailty.</p>","PeriodicalId":94243,"journal":{"name":"The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13031002/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146204508","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Intrinsic capacity and healthy aging in the United Kingdom and Brazil: a coordinated analysis of 2 population-based cohort studies.","authors":"Laiss Bertola, Yu-Tzu Wu, Márlon Juliano R Aliberti, Andrew Kingston, Marcel Hiratsuka, Eduardo Ferriolli, Matthew Prina, Claudia K Suemoto","doi":"10.1093/gerona/glag033","DOIUrl":"10.1093/gerona/glag033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Although intrinsic capacity (IC) is a multidimensional marker of healthy aging, cross-country validation in diverse cultural and socioeconomic contexts remains limited. We study aimed to harmonize the operationalization of IC and examine its associations with sociodemographic characteristics and health outcomes in the United Kingdom and Brazil.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Nationally representative cohorts of community-dwelling older adults in both countries, aged ≥60 years from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (n = 3392) and Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (n = 3580). IC was derived using bi-factor models comprising locomotor, cognition, psychological, sensory, and vitality measures, standardized to a 0-100 scale. Linear regressions assessed IC associations with sociodemographic factors. Logistic regressions examined IC associations with poor/fair self-rated health and disability in basic activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL). We tested whether education and wealth modified these associations.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mean IC scores were lower in women than in men, with differences of 3.06 points (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.30-3.82) in the United Kingdom and 8.14 (95% CI = 7.40-8.90) in Brazil. Older age, non-White race/ethnicity, less education, and lower wealth were also linked to lower IC scores. Higher IC was associated with lower odds of poor/fair self-rated health in the United Kingdom (odds ratio [OR] = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.29-0.35) and Brazil (OR = 0.54; 95% CI = 0.48-0.61). Higher IC was also linked to lower odds of ADL and IADL disability in both cohorts. No significant interactions were found.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>IC showed consistent associations with sociodemographic factors and health outcomes both countries. IC may inform equitable, person-cent red healthy aging policies for older adults in diverse contexts.</p>","PeriodicalId":94243,"journal":{"name":"The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146204571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determinants of oral functions and oral frailty in older community-dwelling individuals: a comprehensive analysis.","authors":"Leming Jia, Anastasios Grigoriadis, Ayumi Suzuki, Rickard Strandberg, Pia Skott, Gunilla Sandborgh Englund, Mats Trulsson, Abhishek Kumar","doi":"10.1093/gerona/glag021","DOIUrl":"10.1093/gerona/glag021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Aging alters oral structures, affecting chewing and swallowing function. Oral function is increasingly recognized as an important component of systemic health outcomes in older individuals. Understanding age-related changes in oral function is crucial for oral health care. This study comprehensively evaluated the various oral function determinants and their age-related changes, identified key factors, and estimated the prevalence of poor oral functions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study of older individuals (n = 206) participated. Oral functions were objectively assessed through dental status, saliva secretion, orofacial muscle strength, masticatory performance, and swallowing function. Correlation analysis, cluster analysis, and multiple regression were employed to explore the complexities of oral function determinants and their interrelationships and to estimate the prevalence of poor oral functions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Correlation analysis showed significantly (p < .001) strong (rs = -0.79) to low (rs = -0.11) correlations between determinants of oral function. The cluster analysis successfully identified three major groups of oral function. Further, the multiple linear regression and backward elimination showed that chewing strokes, natural teeth, and tongue pressure (p < .001) were significant predictors of age. Additionally, the prevalence of older individuals with poor dental status, reduced tongue pressure strength, and low saliva secretion rate was estimated at 9.7%, 14.6%, and 8.3%, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Oral function determinants show age-related changes and have the potential to estimate the prevalence of poor oral functions in older individuals. These findings may be critical in identifying the phenotypic profile of people with poor oral function.</p>","PeriodicalId":94243,"journal":{"name":"The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13017091/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146109483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Caloric restriction and time-restricted eating in older adults with overweight or obesity: The Health, Aging, and Later-Life Outcomes Pilot Study.","authors":"Denise K Houston, Jason Fanning, Barbara J Nicklas, James P Delany, Fang-Chi Hsu, Shyh-Huei Chen, Michael Walkup, Rebecca H Neiberg, Cynthia L Stowe, Kimberly Kennedy, Mark A Espeland, Jamy D Ard, Michael E Miller, W Jack Rejeski, Stephen B Kritchevsky","doi":"10.1093/gerona/glag061","DOIUrl":"10.1093/gerona/glag061","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In animal models, caloric restriction (CR) and time-restricted eating (TRE) extend lifespan and healthspan; however, the long-term benefits in humans are unknown. The goal of the Health, Aging and Later-Life Outcomes Pilot (HALLO-P) was to inform the design of a definitive trial to evaluate the long-term effects of CR and TRE in older adults with overweight or obesity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>HALLO-P randomized 90 older (≥60 years) adults with obesity or overweight to one of three 9-month interventions: (1) 20% CR delivered in-person; (2) 20% CR delivered remotely (RCR); and (3) 8-hour TRE with ad libitum caloric intake. The degree of sustained CR (by doubly labeled water), the sustainability of TRE, participant retention, and changes in body mass and composition, physical performance, and cardiometabolic risk factors were examined.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Participants had a mean (SD) age of 67.2 (4.9) years and BMI of 31.7 (2.9) kg/m2; 62% were female and 83% White. Participant retention was 92%. The mean (SD) percent CR was 4.5% (11.0) in CR and 6.0% (10.3) in RCR. TRE participants reported eating within an 8.5-hour window a median of 84% of days. Mean change in body mass was -4.4, -6.7, and -1.0 kg in CR, RCR, and TRE, respectively. CR and RCR lost fat and lean soft tissue. Chair stand and 400-m walk times improved in RCR and TRE, and there were improvements in glucose and cholesterol levels in all 3 groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>HALLO-P showed that the CR and TRE interventions were feasible and associated with improvements in health status over 9 months despite not achieving the target CR.</p>","PeriodicalId":94243,"journal":{"name":"The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13049596/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147328850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Palliative and end-of-life care as fragile collective accomplishment: social and medical perspectives.","authors":"Markus H Schafer, Raya Elfadel Kheirbek","doi":"10.1093/gerona/glag064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glag064","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":94243,"journal":{"name":"The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences","volume":"81 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147517963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bidirectional associations between physical function and physical activity among older adults living with dementia.","authors":"Shijun Zhu, Barbara Resnick, Marie Boltz, Elizabeth Galik, Rachel McPherson, Ashley Kuzmik, Chris Wells, Eunji Lee, Soyeon Shim","doi":"10.1093/gerona/glag027","DOIUrl":"10.1093/gerona/glag027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Previous research has suggested a likely reciprocal relationship between physical function and physical activity among older adults, but few assessed those living with dementia. This study examined the bidirectional relationship between physical function and physical activity among older adults living with dementia during hospitalization and post discharge periods, and whether the relationship differs by severity of dementia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This secondary analysis included 455 older adult patients aged 55 years and older living with dementia from a randomized clinical trial, assessed during admission, discharge, 1-, 6-, and 12-month post-discharge periods. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs) were used to assess the bidirectional relations, controlling for age, comorbidities, admission location, length of stay, discharge location, and intervention status.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Average age was 82.47 (SD = 8.49) and majority were female (62.6%) and White (65.3%). The average SLUMS score was 7.51 (SD = 5.90) with 77% (n = 351) having a severe level of cognitive impairment. Antecedent physical function at admission, discharge, and 1-month predicted physical activity at corresponding cross-lagged timepoint separately (range of unstandardized coefficients b's: 0.037-0.043, p's < .05); physical activity at discharge predicted physical function at 1-month (b = 0.708, p = .016). This bi-directional relationship varied by severity of dementia, appearing at the first 2 cross-lagged time points in patients with severe dementia (b's: 0.039-0.049 and 0.464-0.848, all p's < .05), but not in those with moderate dementia.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Physical activity and physical function commonly co-occur among older adults with dementia. Intervention studies promoting both physical function and physical activity among older adults with dementia may achieve greater effectiveness when tailored to differences in dementia severity.</p>","PeriodicalId":94243,"journal":{"name":"The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13012857/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146204561","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Associations of unmet dental care needs due to cost with incident cardiovascular disease and dementia: a prospective study in the All of Us cohort.","authors":"Mabeline Velez, Peter T Buto, Anna M Pederson, Jennifer Weuve, Audrey R Murchland, Jingxuan Wang, M Maria Glymour, Kendra D Sims","doi":"10.1093/gerona/glag023","DOIUrl":"10.1093/gerona/glag023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Poor oral health among older adults may contribute to cardiovascular and dementia risk via systemic inflammation and cardiometabolic comorbidities. Financial constraints are a major driver of unmet dental care needs for older individuals. This study investigates whether having dental care needs that were unmet due to cost is associated with subsequent incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or dementia among adults aged 55 and older.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants in the All of Us cohort (N = 98 787) who responded to a survey question on dental care needs that were unmet due to cost were followed up to 5.3 years via electronic health records for onset of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, heart failure (HF), or dementia. We estimated outcome-specific hazard ratios (HRs), using Cox proportional-hazards models, adjusting for demographic, behavioral, and clinical covariates.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After adjustment for demographic factors, individuals who reported unmet dental needs due to cost had relatively higher incidence of HF (HR = 1.45; 95% CI, 1.30-1.63), MI (HR = 1.37; 95% CI, 1.17-1.61), stroke (HR = 1.45; 95% CI, 1.24-1.70), and dementia (HR = 1.37; 95% CI, 1.05-1.76). These associations were attenuated after further adjusting for socioeconomic, behavioral, and clinical factors. We did not observe differences by gender, racial and ethnic identity, or periodontitis diagnosis. The estimated population attributable fraction suggested that eliminating financial barriers to dental care could prevent 2%-4% of each outcome among older adults.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Financial barriers to dental care may be an important determinant of CVD and dementia among aging populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":94243,"journal":{"name":"The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13016879/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146184052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}