The aim of this study was to assess bone health in individuals over 60 years of age in Kazakhstan, focusing on the relationship between osteoporosis, body mass index (BMI), body composition, and nutritional factors. This study included 1961 participants, consisting of 1620 women and 341 men, aged 60 to 89. Bone strength was assessed using quantitative ultrasound of the calcaneus, while fracture risk was assessed with the FRAX tool. Osteoporosis was detected in 20.2% of women and 15.2% of men, and osteopenia affected 59.8% of women and 58.4% of men. A total of 73.7% of the participants were overweight, 38.2% were pre-obese, and 35.5% were obese. The results of the study emphasise that, in addition to classic nutrients (calcium, vitamin D, protein), a number of trace elements and vitamins (selenium, iodine, zinc, vitamin B6, phytosterols) also play a significant, possibly indirect, role in bone metabolism. An inverse correlation was observed between BMI and osteoporosis prevalence; with a decrease in BMI, the incidence of osteoporosis increased (women: χ² = 26.0, df = 2, p < 0.001; men: χ² = 4.29, df = 2, p < 0.014; total sample: χ² = 32.3, df = 2, p < 0.001), thus confirming that excess body fat exerts a protective effect on bone health. Significant risk factors for osteoporosis included age, height, and weight. A link was found between the age of first osteoporosis onset and BMI (from 65 to 72.14 years). This confirms the value of FRAX for accurately assessing fracture risk and developing personalised recommendations based on anthropometric and dietary characteristics. Future longitudinal research is warranted to validate these results and further elucidate the underlying mechanisms, including the predictive power of novel anthropometric parameters such as the Body Roundness Index and Body Shape Index.

Background: Physical activity is a key modifiable factor influencing healthy aging, yet data on activity patterns and their physiological correlates in older adults from Central Asia remain limited. Understanding these relationships is essential for informing region-specific health promotion strategies. Objectives: This study assessed physical activity levels among urban-dwelling older adults in Astana, Kazakhstan, and examined associations between activity level, body composition, visceral fat accumulation, metabolic indicators, and muscle strength. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 608 adults aged ≥60 years (median age: 68 years; 82.1% women). Physical activity was measured using the validated Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE). Anthropometric and body composition indicators, including BMI, total and visceral fat, skeletal muscle mass, and handgrip strength, were evaluated. Spearman correlation and linear regression analyses were applied. The analyses were exploratory and did not include adjustment for potential confounders such as sex, chronic disease burden, or socioeconomic status; therefore, the observed associations should be interpreted with caution. Results: The median PASE score was 55.55, with 61.8% of participants demonstrating moderate activity levels, primarily through walking and household tasks. In analyses without adjustment for potential confounding factors, PASE scores showed weak inverse associations with visceral fat (ρ = −0.214; p < 0.001) and waist-to-hip ratio (ρ = −0.154; p < 0.001), as well as weak positive associations with handgrip strength. Across the reported significant associations, correlation coefficients ranged from |ρ| = 0.103 to 0.235, and the explanatory capacity of the regression models was low, with R² values ranging from 0.6% to 8.2%. Conclusions: Higher habitual physical activity may be linked to selected bioelectrical impedance parameters, WHR, and handgrip strength among urban older adults. Given the cross-sectional design, causal interpretation should be approached with caution. These findings provide meaningful regional baseline evidence for future longitudinal and intervention studies on physical activity and healthy aging in Central Asia.

Older adults in residential care are usually described as a group at high risk of undernutrition, yet data on the nutritional and cardiometabolic status of institutionalised older adults in Central Asia are scarce. We aimed to characterise the anthropometric, dietary and biochemical profile of older residents of a state social-care institution in Kazakhstan and to examine whether overnutrition, micronutrient inadequacy and cardiometabolic risk coexist. In this cross-sectional study, 62 adults aged 60 years and over from the “Sharapat” centre in Astana underwent anthropometry, bioelectrical impedance body-composition analysis, blood-pressure measurement, dietary assessment (specialized nutrition questionnaires, a 24-hour dietary recall and food diaries) with calculation of nutrient intakes, and venous blood and urine testing; serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and trace elements were measured in 29 participants. Laboratory analyses and data processing were performed at the Research Institute of Preventive Medicine named after E.D. Dalenov, Astana Medical University. The sample (61.3% men; mean age 74.0 years) showed a high cardiometabolic burden, with arterial hypertension in 63%, total cholesterol of at least 5.0 mmol/L in 60%, LDL-cholesterol of at least 3.0 mmol/L in 71%, and overweight or obesity in 58%, whereas only 5% were underweight. Habitual diets were high in sodium (71% above 2000 mg/day) and low in potassium (92% below 3500 mg/day), calcium (85% below 1000 mg/day) and fibre (90% below 25 g/day). Among those tested, 79% had vitamin D deficiency, and overweight or obesity coexisted with vitamin D deficiency in 16 of 29 participants. None of 56 exploratory diet-risk correlations survived correction for multiple testing. Rather than the undernutrition typical of residential care, these residents displayed a double burden of malnutrition-excess adiposity and cardiometabolic risk alongside micronutrient-poor diets and widespread vitamin D deficiency-identifying concrete targets for institutional catering, supplementation and cardiometabolic screening.

Introduction. Older adults are vulnerable to insufficient micronutrient intake, altered nutrient metabolism, and cardiometabolic risk. Dietary assessment estimates nutrient exposure, whereas serum biomarkers integrate intake with absorption, distribution, metabolism, chronic disease, and supplement use. Dietary antioxidant scores and serum micronutrient profiles may therefore provide different classifications for the same individuals. Evidence on concordance between these approaches in older adults remains limited. Objective. To evaluate concordance between an energy-adjusted dietary antioxidant index and a serum antioxidant micronutrient index in older adults, identify clinical and behavioral factors associated with the serum index, and examine its relationships with biochemical indicators and risk categories derived from A Body Shape Index. Methods. This cross-sectional study included 215 older adults with demographic, anthropometric, dietary, and laboratory data. Dietary intake was assessed by a twenty-four-hour dietary recall. The energy-adjusted dietary antioxidant index combined standardized residual intakes of vitamins A, C, D, and E and selenium. The serum antioxidant micronutrient index combined standardized concentrations of the same five components; serum vitamin E was adjusted for total cholesterol. Concordance was evaluated using Spearman correlation, a bootstrap confidence interval based on 2000 resamples, tertile agreement, and quadratically weighted Cohen kappa. The Benjamini–Hochberg procedure was applied to component-level comparisons. Factors associated with the serum index were examined using linear regression with robust standard errors. Associations with A Body Shape Index categories were evaluated using nonparametric tests and logistic regression adjusted for age and sex. Results. The median age was 68 years, and 165 participants were women. The dietary index was available for 207 participants and the serum index for all 215 participants. Correlation between the indices was weak and did not reach statistical significance (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.128; 95 percent bootstrap confidence interval from -0.007 to 0.263; p=0.066). Exact tertile agreement was 39.1 percent, and quadratically weighted Cohen kappa was 0.152. After adjustment for multiple comparisons, vitamin D was the only component with a significant association between dietary intake and serum concentration. Use of vitamin or mineral supplements was independently associated with a higher serum index (standardized regression coefficient 0.512; p<0.001). The serum index differed across A Body Shape Index risk categories. Each one-standard-deviation increase in the serum index was associated with lower odds of increased risk after adjustment for age and sex (odds ratio 0.43; 95 percent confidence interval from 0.24 to 0.78; p=0.005). Conclusion. Dietary antioxidant potential and serum antioxidant micronutrient status showed low concordance and should not be interpreted as interchangeable measures. Supplement use, particularly vitamin D supplementation, was more strongly related to circulating status than the dietary index. Combined but separate interpretation of dietary and laboratory assessments may improve personalized nutritional evaluation in older adults. Keywords: aged, antioxidants, micronutrients, nutritional status, biomarkers, anthropometry.

Морковь (Daucus carota L.) - важная сельскохозяйственная культура семейства Apiaceae, имеющая высокую пищевую и биологическую ценность. Корнеплоды моркови содержат широкий спектр питательных веществ и биологически активных соединений, включая каротиноиды и флавоноиды. В данной статье представлен аналитический обзор современных научных данных о полезных свойствах моркови, включая ее антиоксидантное, противовоспалительное и онкопротекторное действия, а также влияния на иммунную систему. Отмечена высокая профилактическая ценность моркови как для взрослых, так и для детей. Регулярное потребление моркови в составе ежедневного рациона, в том числе в виде функциональных продуктов и натуральных добавок, способствует укреплению здоровья и снижению риска развития ряда хронических заболеваний.

Background: Circulating α-Klotho is a longevity-related protein with anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective functions. Evidence on its relationship with individual leukocyte populations is limited, while eosinophils may have both inflammatory and tissue-homeostatic roles. We examined the association of serum α-Klotho with absolute and relative eosinophil measures in older adults. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 502 community-dwelling adults aged ≥60 years with serum α-Klotho data; 493 also had a complete blood count with differential. α-Klotho was analyzed continuously because no universally accepted clinical reference interval or diagnostic cut-point exists. The primary analysis assessed the Spearman correlation between α-Klotho and absolute eosinophil count; eosinophil percentage and the eosinophil-to-lymphocyte ratio were supportive measures. Robust linear regression estimated the percentage difference in α-Klotho per 1-standard-deviation increase in log-eosinophil count after adjustment for demographic, renal, hematological, smoking, and respiratory factors. Results: The median serum α-Klotho concentration was 1354.99 pg/mL (interquartile range 979.54-4047.59), and the median absolute eosinophil count was 0.14 ×10⁹/L (0.09-0.20). α-Klotho correlated positively with absolute eosinophils (Spearman ρ = 0.175; false-discovery-rate-adjusted q = 0.001), eosinophil percentage (ρ = 0.152; q = 0.004), and the eosinophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (ρ = 0.139; q = 0.008). In the fully adjusted model (n = 479), each 1-standard-deviation increase in log-eosinophils was associated with 22.3% higher α-Klotho (95% confidence interval 9.1-37.0%; p < 0.001). The association persisted after restricting α-Klotho to its 1st-99th percentiles (16.9% higher; 95% confidence interval 4.6-30.7%; p = 0.006) and after adjustment for study centre. Conclusion: Higher circulating α-Klotho was independently associated with higher absolute and relative eosinophil measures in this older Central Asian cohort. The direction differs from some population-based reports and should be considered hypothesis-generating. Prospective studies with eosinophil phenotyping, allergy and parasite assessment, and standardized α-Klotho assays are needed before the finding can be interpreted in relation to healthy longevity.