==== Front
Innov Aging
Innov Aging
innovateage
Innovation in Aging
2399-5300 Oxford University Press US 

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2729
igaa057.2729
Abstracts
Session 7060 (Symposium)
AcademicSubjects/SOC02600
Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Genotype, Frailty, and Gait Speed: The Cardiovascular Health Study
Mance Shannon 1 Rosso Andrea 2 Bis Joshua 3 Studenski Stephanie 4 Bohnen Nico 5 Rosano Caterina 4 1 
University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
2 
School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
3 
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States
4 
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
5 
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
2020 
16 12 2020 
16 12 2020 
4 Suppl 1 Program Abstracts from The GSA 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting “Turning 75: Why Age Matters”757 757
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.2020This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Abstract
The association of COMT with gait speed varies across studies; frailty, a condition increasing vulnerability to stressors, may influence this association. Cross-sectional data was obtained in 3,744 participants (71 years, 82% white, 39% male) for gait speed, frailty (Fried definition), and COMT. Multivariable regression models of COMT predicting gait were adjusted for demographics, chronic conditions, and locomotor factors. Interactions of COMT by frailty and by race predicting gait speed were p=0.03 and p=0.02, respectively. Compared to Met/Met, the Val/Val group walked marginally more slowly in the full cohort (0.87 vs 0.89 m/sec, p=0.2); differences were significant for those with frailty (n=220, 0.55 vs 0.63m/sec, p=0.03), but not for those with moderate (n=1691, 0.81 vs 0.81m/sec, p=0.9), or no frailty (n=1833, 0.98 vs 0.97 m/sec, p=0.7). Associations were similar by race, but significant for whites only. Studies should assess the influence of dopaminergic signaling on gait slowing due to frailty.