Adherence to the Mediterranean-style diet and high intake of total carotenoids reduces the odds of frailty over 11 years in older adults: Results from the Framingham Offspring Study

The association between oxidative balance score and frailty in adults across a wide age spectrum: NHANES 2007-2018

Background: Frailty has been one of the most serious global public health challenges we will ever face. Oxidative stress is associated with the pathogenesis of frailty, and may be accurately reflected by the oxidative balance score (OBS). However, there have been no studies examining the effect of OBS on frailty. Therefore, we aimed to explore the association between OBS and frailty and whether there was an interaction between the outcomes. Methods: 22 914 participants aged over 20 years taking part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2007-2018 were involved in the study. Sixteen dietary factors and four lifestyle factors were selected to score the OBS. A modified 36-item deficit cumulative frailty index (FI) was used to assess the degree of frailty. The association between OBS and frailty was analyzed using binary logistic regression. Subgroup analysis and interaction tests were used to investigate whether this association was stable across populations. Results: A negative association between OBS and the prevalence of frailty was found in this study. There was also an interaction between OBS and age in their association with frailty. High OBS was significantly and negatively associated with the prevalence of frailty in the 20-39 and 40-64 age groups. In addition, higher OBS combined with a population in the 20-39 age group resulted in a stronger negative association with frailty. Conclusion: High OBS was significantly associated with lower odds of frailty. An interaction existed between OBS and age. Individuals, especially in relatively young populations, are advised to increase OBS through greater intake of antioxidant nutrients and healthier lifestyles, thereby reducing the adverse effects of frailty.

Dietary inflammatory index, dietary total antioxidant capacity, and frailty among older Chinese adults

OBJECTIVES

Frailty is an age-related syndrome associated with poor health outcomes. Studies in developed countries indicate that the dietary inflammatory index (DII) and dietary total antioxidant capacity (DTAC) are important dietary factors influencing the risk of frailty in older adults. However, few studies have explored the association between DII, DTAC, and frailty among older Chinese adults. The objective of the current study was to examine whether DII and DTAC were associated with pre-frailty or frailty among older Chinese adults.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Community-based.

PARTICIPANTS

We included 6414 participants aged ≥60 years.

MEASUREMENTS

Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The DII and energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) were calculated using food parameters. DTAC was estimated using two widely adopted antioxidant scores: DTAC based on ferric reducing antioxidant power and dietary antioxidant quality score (DAQS) obtained from vitamins (vitamins A, C, and E) and minerals (zinc and selenium) with antioxidant functions. Frailty was assessed using the frailty index (FI) calculated from 28 health-related deficits. Individuals were classified as robust (FI ≤ 0.10), pre-frailty (FI > 0.10 to <0.25), or frailty (FI ≥ 0.25). Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations of DII and DTAC with pre-frailty and frailty.

RESULTS

After adjusting for confounding factors, individuals in the highest DII quintile (Q5) were more likely to have pre-frailty (odds ratio [OR] = 1.56; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.25-1.93; P for trend <0.001) than those in the lowest Q1. A similar positive association was detected for E-DII and pre-frailty. A significant association was found between DII and frailty. Compared with the lowest Q1, the highest Q5 of DTAC was negatively correlated with pre-frailty (OR = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.52-0.84; P for trend <0.001) and frailty (OR = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.50-0.1.03; P for trend <0.001). The DAQS yielded results similar to pre-frailty results (OR = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.58-0.89; P < 0.001). There was no evidence suggesting an association between DAQS and frailty.

CONCLUSIONS

More proinflammatory diets were linked to higher pre-frailty risk, whereas higher levels of dietary antioxidants were associated with lower pre-frailty and frailty risk among older Chinese adults.

Gut microb-aging and its relevance to frailty aging

This review explores 'microb-aging' in the gut and its potential link to frailty aging. We explore this connection through alterations in microbiota's taxonomy and metabolism, as well as with concepts of ecological resilience, pathobionts emergence, and biogeography. We examine microb-aging in interconnected body organs, emphasizing the bidirectional relationship with 'inflammaging'. Finally, we discuss how targeting microb-aging could improve screening, diagnostic, and therapeutic approaches in geriatrics.

The Association Between the Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index and Frailty Symptoms: Mediating Effects of Oxidative Stress

Background

There is growing evidence that an antioxidant diet is a protective factor against frailty. However, few studies have examined the effect of comprehensive dietary antioxidants on frailty symptoms. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between the composite dietary antioxidant index (CDAI) and frailty and the underlying mechanisms involved.

Methods

Based on the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) 2003-2018, this study included 11,277 older persons aged ≥60 years. In this study, frailty was defined as having a total score >0.21 on the 49-item frailty index. Six dietary antioxidants were selected for use in calculating the CDAI. A weighted multiple logistic regression model with subgroup analysis and restricted cubic splines (RCSs) were used to examine the association between the CDAI and frailty. To examine the role of oxidative stress, mediation analyses were also conducted.

Results

The association between the CDAI score and frailty risk was significant according to the multivariate model. Compared with participants in tertile 1, participants in both tertile 2 and tertile 3 had lower odds of developing frailty symptoms (OR=0.86; 95% CI=0.75-0.97; P=0.02; and OR=0.81; 95% CI=0.70-0.93; P=0.003). According to the subgroup analyses, the differences in interactions were not statistically significant. There was also a potential nonlinear relationship between the CDAI score and frailty risk. The serum albumin concentration and uric acid concentration had significant mediating effects on the association between the CDAI score and frailty index, with 19.25% (P=0.002) and 21.26% (P < 0.001) of the total, respectively.

Conclusion

Frailty is negatively associated with the CDAI score, which may be partially mediated by oxidative stress.

Mediterranean diet associated with lower frailty risk: A large cohort study of 21,643 women admitted to hospitals

BACKGROUND

Mediterranean diet is traditionally considered as a healthy dietary pattern, while its association with frailty has not been confirmed. This study investigated associations between Mediterranean diet and risk of frailty among women admitted to hospitals in England from an older-aged women's cohort study.

METHODS

A modified Mediterranean diet was evaluated from a validated 217-item food frequency questionnaire. Incident frailty was determined using a hospital frailty risk score based on linkage to Hospital Episode Statistics up to March 2019. Cox proportional hazard models were conducted to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Further subgroup analyses stratified by age and body mass index (BMI), and sensitivity analyses were additionally explored.

RESULTS

Over a mean follow-up of 13 years, there were 14,838 (68.6%) cases of frailty out of 21,643 individuals included in this study. Compared with low adherence to Mediterranean diet, moderate adherence was associated with 5% (HR = 0.95, 95%CI: 0.91, 0.99) lower risk of frailty, with high adherence associated with even lower risk (HR = 0.89, 95%CI: 0.85, 0.94). The magnitude of above associations remained consistent in subgroups stratified by age and BMI, except the association between moderate adherence and risk of frailty was attenuated in the ≥60-year (HR = 0.99, 95%CI: 0.93, 1.06) and the BMI > 24.9 kg/m2 (HR = 0.97, 95%CI: 0.91, 1.03) subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

Adherence to Mediterranean diet was associated with lower risk of frailty. The better the adherence, the greater the magnitude of the protective association. Older and overweight women may potentially benefit from greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet regarding frailty prevention.

Dietary Patterns and Healthy or Unhealthy Aging

BACKGROUND

The aging process is complex, comprising various contributing factors influencing late-life conditions and eventual occurrence of chronic diseases that generate high financial and human costs. These factors include genetic proneness, lifestyle conducted throughout life, environmental conditions, as well as dietary aspects, among others, all together modulating precise pathways linked to aging, making longevity a multidimensional event.

SUMMARY

Compelling evidence support the concept that nutritional determinants have major impact on the risk of age-associated non-communicable diseases as well as mortality. Nutrition research has turned in recent years from considering isolated nutrients or foods to focusing on combinations of foods in dietary patterns in relation to their associations with health outcomes. This narrative review focuses attention on dietary patterns that may contribute to healthy or unhealthy aging and longevity with examples of traditional dietary patterns associated with healthy longevity and reviewing the association of healthy plant-based and unhealthy ultra-processed diets with frailty, a condition that may be considered a hallmark of unhealthy aging.

KEY MESSAGE

There is currently accumulated evidence confirming the key role that dietary patterns mainly of plant origin may exert in modifying the risk of age-associated chronic diseases and healthy longevity. These types of dietary models, unlike those in which the use of ultra-processed food is frequent, are associated with a reduced risk of frailty and, consequently, with healthy aging.

Associations between Low-Carbohydrate Diets and Low-Fat Diets with Frailty in Community-Dwelling Aging Chinese Adults

Frailty is a major health issue associated with aging. Diet affects frailty status; however, studies on the associations between the low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) score, low-fat diet (LFD) score and frailty in older Chinese adults are scarce. This study aimed to examine the associations between the LCD score, LFD score and risk of frailty in older Chinese adults. We analyzed data from 6414 participants aged ≥ 60 years from the China Northwest Natural Population Cohort: Ningxia Project. Frailty was measured using the frailty index (FI), calculated from 28 items comprising diseases, behavioral disorders and blood biochemistry and classified as robust, pre-frail and frail. LCD and LFD scores were calculated using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between LCD, LFD scores and frail or pre-frail status after adjusting for confounders. Participants' mean age was 66.60 ± 4.15 years, and 47.8% were male. After adjusting for age, sex, educational level, drinking, smoking, BMI, physical activity and total energy, compared to the lowest quartile (Q1: reference), the odds ratios (ORs) for pre-frail and frail status in the highest quartile (Q4) of LCD score were 0.73 (95% confidence intervals: 0.61-0.88; p for trend = 0.017) and 0.73 (95%CI: 0.55-0.95; p for trend = 0.035), respectively. No significant associations were observed between LFD score and either pre-frail or frail status. Our data support that lower-carbohydrate diets were associated with lower pre-frail or frail status, particularly in females, while diets lower in fat were not significantly associated with the risk of either pre-frail or frail status in older Chinese adults. Further intervention studies are needed to confirm these results.

Higher intake of dietary flavonols, specifically dietary quercetin, is associated with lower odds of frailty onset over 12 years of follow-up among adults in the Framingham Heart Study

BACKGROUND

Polyphenolic antioxidants derived from plant foods may reduce oxidative stress and frailty, but the effect of the polyphenol subclass of dietary flavonoids and their subclasses on frailty is uncertain.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the association between dietary flavonoids, their subclasses, quercetin (a specific flavonol), and frailty onset in adults.

METHODS

This prospective cohort study included individuals from the Framingham Heart Study with no frailty at baseline. Intake of total flavonoids, subclasses of flavonoids (flavonols, flavan-3-ols, flavonones, flavones, anthocyanins, and polymeric flavonoids), and quercetin were estimated via semi-quantitative FFQ along with frailty (Fried phenotype), and covariates at baseline (1998-2001). Frailty was re-evaluated in 2011-2014. Logistic regression estimated OR and 95% CIs for each flavonoid variable and frailty onset.

RESULTS

Mean age was 58.4 y (SD ± 8.3, n = 1701; 55.5% women). The mean total flavonoid intake was 309 mg/d (SD ± 266). After 12.4 (SD ± 0.8) y, 224 (13.2%) individuals developed frailty. Although total flavonoid intake was not statistically associated with frailty onset (adjusted OR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.99-1.01), each 10 mg/d of higher flavonol intake was linked with 20% lower odds of frailty onset (OR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.67-0.96). Other subclasses showed no association (P values range: 0.12-0.99), but every 10 mg/d of higher quercetin intake was associated with 35% lower odds of frailty onset (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.48-0.88).

CONCLUSIONS

Although no association was observed between total flavonoid intake and frailty onset in adults, a higher intake of flavonols was associated with lower odds of frailty onset, with a particularly strong association for quercetin. This hypothesis-generating study highlights the importance of assessing specific subclasses of flavonoids and the potential of dietary flavonols and quercetin as a strategy to prevent the development of frailty.

Dairy Food Intake Is Not Associated With Frailty in Adults From the Framingham Heart Study

BACKGROUND

Nutrients, including protein, calcium, and fat may be associated with risk of frailty, yet specific contributions from whole dairy foods rich in these nutrients remain understudied.

OBJECTIVE

To determine associations between dairy intake (milk, yogurt, cheese, total (milk + yogurt + cheese), low-fat and high-fat dairy, and servings per week) and frailty onset and frailty phenotype components.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study. All dairy intake exposures (servings per week) were assessed via a food frequency questionnaire.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Participants (aged 33 to 86 years) from the Framingham Offspring Study who were not frail at baseline (1998-2001) completed a food frequency questionnaire and had 1 or 2 follow-up frailty assessments (2005-2008 and 2011-2014) were included.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Frailty was defined as the presence of ≥3 Fried frailty phenotype components: unintentional weight-loss, exhaustion, slowness (gait speed), weakness (grip strength), and low physical activity. Individuals with zero to two components were considered nonfrail.

STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED

Repeated measures logistic regression estimated odds ratios and 95% CIs for frailty onset. Logistic (exhaustion and weight loss) and linear regression (gait speed, grip strength, and physical activity) estimated the association between baseline dairy intake and each frailty component at follow-up, adjusting for baseline values for age, sex, energy intake (residual analysis), current smoking, and multivitamin use. Models were further adjusted for health status in a secondary analysis.

RESULTS

Mean baseline age ± SD was 61 ± 9 years (range = 33 to 87 years), and 54% were women. Of 2,550 nonfrail individuals at baseline, 8.8% (2005-2008) and 13.5% (2011-2014) became frail. Higher yogurt intake was associated with decreased odds of frailty (odds ratio 0.96, 95% CI 0.93 to 0.99; P = 0.02). Each additional serving of yogurt (β ± SE) .004 ± .001; P < 0.01) and low-fat dairy (β ± SE) .001 ± .0006; P = 0.04) was associated with significantly faster follow-up gait speed. Dietary intakes of high-fat dairy were associated with increased odds of frailty (odds ratio 1.02, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.04; P = 0.05), but the P value was of borderline significance. No associations were observed for other dairy foods. After adjusting for health status, the associations of high-fat dairy and yogurt with frailty became nonsignificant, although the magnitudes of the associations did not change. The association between yogurt and gait speed decreased in magnitude after adjusting for health status (β ± SE) .002 ± .001; P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Dietary intakes of yogurt were modestly associated with reduced frailty onset and dietary intakes of high-fat dairy had a borderline association with increased odds of frailty, but other dairy food intakes showed no association in this study of healthy adults. Some dairy food intakes were modestly associated with follow-up gait speed. However, effect sizes were small, and the clinical importance of these associations remains undetermined.

Critical evaluation of the questionnaires assessing adherence to the Mediterranean diet that are based on servings

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The Mediterranean Diet (MD) is characterized by a high intake of vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, and olive oil, and moderate fish, dairy, and wine intake. A high adherence to MD has been associated with numerous health benefits, including reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. The clinical assessment of MD adherence is complicated by the absence of a univocally accepted tool and by the abundance of questionnaires developed to determine adherence, whose reliability and validity is uncertain. In this inter-associative document, we critically evaluated servings-based questionnaires for the assessment of MD adherence, aiming to identify the most valuable tool for the use in clinical practice.

METHODS AND RESULTS

For each questionnaire, we analyzed the structure, evidence on health-related outcomes and agreement with the recommendations of MD. We found that most questionnaires do not accurately reflect the principles of MD in terms of the food groups and their optimal consumption frequency. Additionally, the comparison of questionnaires revealed low agreement and some concerns with regard to the scoring assumptions.

CONCLUSIONS

Among the available questionnaires, we suggest the use of the 15-Items Pyramid based Mediterranean Diet Score (PyrMDS), which is the one with fewer flaws and a strong supporting body of theoretical and scientific evidence. The use of the PyrMDS may facilitate the assessment of MD adherence in clinical practice, which is instrumental in reducing the risk of non-communicable chronic diseases.

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and risk of frailty and pre-frailty in elderly adults: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis with GRADE assessment

BACKGROUND

Several studies have explored the association between Mediterranean diet and frailty, but reported inconsistent results. This systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis summarized the existing evidence on the relationship between Mediterranean diet and risk of frailty and pre-frailty in elderly adults.

METHODS

A systematic search on MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science and Google Scholar was conducted up to January 2023. Study selection and data extraction were performed by two reviewers working in parallel. Epidemiologic studies reporting relative risks (RRs) or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for frailty/pre-frailty in relation to Mediterranean diet (as a priori dietary pattern) were considered. The overall effect size was determined using a random effects model. The body of evidence was assessed by the GRADE approach.

RESULTS

A total of 19 studies (12 cohorts and 7 cross-sectionals) were included. In cohort studies (89,608 participants/ 12,866 cases), the highest versus lowest category of Mediterranean diet was inversely associated with frailty (RR: 0.66; 95%CI: 0.55, 0.78; I²:52.4%, P_Q-test=0.02). This association was also significant in cross-sectional studies with 1093 cases among 13,581 participants (OR: 0.44; 95%CI: 0.28, 0.70; I²:81.8%, P_Q-test<0.001). Moreover, each 2-point increase in Mediterranean diet score was related to decreased risk of frailty in cohort (RR: 0.86; 95%CI: 0.80, 0.93) and cross-sectional (OR: 0.79; 95%CI: 0.65, 0.95) studies. Nonlinear association showed a decreasing slope in curve, sharper at high scores for cohort studies and a steadily reduction for cross-sectional studies. The certainty of the evidence was graded as high in both cohort and cross-sectional studies. Combining 4 effect sizes of 4 studies (12,745 participants/ 4363 cases), the highest adherence to Mediterranean diet was linked to a lower risk of pre-frailty, as well (pooled OR: 0.73; 95%CI: 0.61, 0.86; I²:40.9%, P_Q-test=0.17).

CONCLUSION

Adherence to Mediterranean diet is inversely associated with risk of frailty and pre-frailty in older adults and thus, has a considerable impact on health of this population.