J Nutr. 2012 Dec;142(12):2161-6.
A higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet is inversely associated with the development of frailty in community-dwelling elderly men and women.
Talegawkar SA, Bandinelli S, Bandeen-Roche K, Chen P, Milaneschi Y, Tanaka T, Semba RD, Guralnik JM, Ferrucci L.
Source
Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
sameera.talegawkar@alumni.tufts.edu
Abstract
Adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet is associated with a lower risk for
mortality, cognitive decline, and dementia. Whether adherence to a
Mediterranean-style diet protects against age-related frailty is unclear.
Therefore, our objective was to examine the association between a
Mediterranean-style diet with the risk of frailty in community-dwelling older
persons. We conducted longitudinal analyses using data from 690 community-living
persons (>=65 y) who were randomly selected from a population registry in Tuscany,
Italy. Participants of the Invecchiare in Chianti study of aging completed the
baseline examination in 1998-2000 and were re-examined at least once over 6 y.
Adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet (scored 0-9, modeled categorically as
<=3, 4-5, and >=6) was computed from the European Prospective Investigation into
Cancer and nutrition FFQ previously validated in this cohort. Frailty was
defined as having at least 2 of the following criteria: poor muscle strength,
feeling of exhaustion, low walking speed, and low physical activity. After a 6-y
follow-up, higher adherence (score >=6) to a Mediterranean-style diet was
associated with lower odds of developing frailty [OR = 0.30 (95% CI: 0.14,
0.66)] compared with those with lower adherence (score <=3). A higher adherence
to a Mediterranean-style diet at baseline was also associated with a lower risk
of low physical activity (OR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.96) and low walking speed
[OR = 0.48 (95% CI: 0.27, 0.86)] but not with feelings of exhaustion and poor
muscle strength. In community-dwelling older adults, higher adherence to a
Mediterranean-style diet was inversely associated with the development of
frailty.
PMID: 23096005 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]