Anne B Newman

Contributions to Public Health

• Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease and Aging: As a cardiovascular epidemiologist studying older adults in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), I determined the relationship of subclinical cardiovascular disease and endurance to several aspects of disability and mortality. This work has important implications for improving healthy life through CVD prevention.  Through my mentees this work was expanded to address white matter change on brain MRI, subclinical peripheral artery disease and coronary artery calcium.
  • Newman AB, Newman AB, Shemanski L, Manolio TA, Cushman M, Mittelmark M, Polak JF, Powe NR, Siscovick D, for the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) Collaborative Research Group.  The Ankle-Arm Index as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1999;19:538-545. PMID: 10073955.
  • Newman AB, Arnold AM, Naydeck BL, Fried LP, Burke GL, Enright P, Gottdiener J, Hirsch C, O’Leary D, Tracy R.  “Successful Aging”: Impact of Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease. Arch Intern Med. 2003;163:2315-2322. PMID: 14581251.
• Obesity, Sarcopenia and Aging: Through my work as PI of the Health ABC study, I made key observations about sarcopenia, weight loss and health in old age. I have demonstrated that most of the loss of lean mass can be explained by overall weight loss and that lean mass is conserved relative to fat mass, except when weight loss occurs in the setting of illness. I also demonstrated that muscle strength and not low lean mass predicts mortality, leading to new definitions of sarcopenia. 
  • Newman AB, Lee JS, Visser M, Goodpaster BH, Kritchevsky SB, Tylavsky FA, Nevitt M, Harris TB.  Weight Change and the Conservation of Lean Mass in Old Age: The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;82:872-878. PMID: 16210719.
  • Newman AB, Kupelian V, Visser M, Simonsick EM, Goodpaster BH, Kritchevsky SB, Tylavsky FA, Rubin SM, Harris TB, On behalf of the Health ABC Study Investigators.  Strength, but not Muscle Mass is Associated with Mortality in the Health ABC Cohort. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2006;61A(1):72-77. PMID: 16456196.
• Healthy Aging and Biology of Aging: I have made several important contributions to conceptualizing healthy aging and the biology of aging including an index of healthy aging, used in studies of genetics and in clinical trials of aging. I led the first GWAS cohort study of longevity and I led the phenotype working group for the LLFS. Most recently, I developed a novel scale of vigor in the Study of Mobility and Muscle Aging (SOMMA). 
  • Newman AB, Blackwell TL, Mau T, Cawthon PM, Coen PM, Cummings SR, Toledo FGS, Goodpaster BH, Glynn NW, Hepple RT, Kritchevsky SB. Vigor to Frailty As a Continuum-A New Approach in the Study of Muscle, Mobility, and Aging Cohort. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2024 Jan 1;79(1):glad244. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glad244. PMID: 37847228; PMCID: PMC10733210. 
  • Sanders JL, Minster RL, Barmada MM, Matteini AM, Boudreau RM, Christensen K, Mayeux R, Borecki IB, Zhang Q, Perls T, Newman AB. Heritability of and mortality prediction with a longevity phenotype: the healthy aging index. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2014 Apr;69(4):479-85. PMID: 23913930; PMCID: PMC3968826.         
• Clinical Trials and Aging: I have been active in the development of clinical trials in older adults. I was a founding investigator of the LIFE study. My work on mobility disability in the Health ABC study was used for designing the study outcome. I was a founding investigator for the ASPREE trial, a core investigator for the ENRGISE Trial, served on the PREVENTABLE Trial Steering Committee (2018-2020), and currently lead Reducing Inflammation for Greater Health Trial (RIGHT).
  • Pahor M, Guralnik JM, Ambrosius WT, Blair S, Bonds DE, Church TS, Espeland MA, Fielding RA, Gill TM, Groessl EJ, King AC, Kritchevsky SB, Manini TM, McDermott MM, Miller ME, Newman AB, Rejeski WJ, Sink KM, Williamson JD. Effect of structured physical activity on prevention of major mobility disability in older adults: the LIFE study randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2014 Jun 18;311(23):2387-96. PMID: 24866862; PMCID: PMC4266388.
  • McNeil JJ, Woods RL, Nelson MR, Reid CM, Kirpach B, Wolfe R, Storey E, Shah RC, Lockery JE, Tonkin AM, Newman AB, Williamson JD, Margolis KL, Ernst ME, Abhayaratna WP, Stocks N, Fitzgerald SM, Orchard SG, Trevaks RE, Beilin LJ, Donnan GA, Gibbs P, Johnston CI, Ryan J, Radziszewska B, Grimm R, Murray AM; ASPREE Investigator Group. Effect of Aspirin on Disability-free Survival in the Healthy Elderly. N Engl J Med. 2018 Oct 18;379(16):1499-1508. PMID: 30221596; PMCID: PMC6426126.