Mediterranean Diet and Ultra-Processed Food on Frailty in Older Adults

by | Nov 12, 2024 | 2024, Aging, Mediterranean Diet

Written by Chrystal Moulton, Science Writer. Ultra processed foods were associated with a higher risk of frailty (RR= 1.10, P < 0.05) and pre-frailty (R= 1.04, P < 0.05).

The life expectancy of adults over 70 years old has significantly increased in the past two decades1. However, the cost of disability has remained a significant and constant factor despite the increase in life expectancy1,2. Previous research has suggested that changing dietary and lifestyle patterns could improve overall health status of adults3,4. The most commonly cited diet to improve health is the Mediterranean diet5-7. However, most individuals despite eating a healthy diet still consume ultra processed foods, which are associated with poor diet quality and overall health8,9. In the current trial, researchers investigated the association between frailty and cardiometabolic diseases with diet10. Researchers developed scoring tools for the Mediterranean diet and ultra processed foods to determine dietary patterns or food types that increase the risk of frailty and disease.

Data from the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly [ASPREE] randomized trial and the ASPREE longitudinal study of older persons [ALSOP] cohort study to analyze the relationship between consumption of a Mediterranean diet and ultra processed foods on the risk of cardiometabolic disease and frailty. Both studies utilized data from the same population. These studies were conducted in Australia on adults aged 70 years old or more who were willing to participate and accept the requirements of the trial. In the longitudinal version of this cohort study, a 54-item food frequency questionnaire was used to evaluate dietary patterns among the participants. Researchers collected social demographic information, anthropometric measurements, lab tests, medical and social history, cognitive and functional assessments, and lifestyle factors from each participant at baseline. Participants had to complete 30 out of 38 items on the food frequency questionnaire in order to be included in the analysis. Logistical regression models were used to determine association between dietary patterns and the risk of cardiometabolic disease and frailty.

Out of 16,703 participants in the original ASPREE trial, researchers used data from the 2nd wave of the ASPREE longitudinal study [ALSOP] which included 12,581 participants. Ultimately 12,416 were included in this analysis of which 11,962 had valid ultra processed food scores and 12,394 had valid Mediterranean diet scores. The median age among female participants was 77 years old and among men 76.7 years old. Female participants were more likely to be living alone and less likely to be current drinkers. Female participants also had higher rates of central adiposity (63.2%), frailty (15.1%), depression (19.6%), and dyslipidemia (88.1%) at baseline compared to men. Female participants were also more likely to adhere to the Mediterranean diet compared to men (Q4- 65.8% v.  Q1- 41.7%, P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for confounding factors, higher Mediterranean diet score was associated with a lower risk of chronic kidney disease (OR= 0.94, P < 0.05) and hypertension (OR= 0.96, P < 0.05) as well as both pre-frailty (RR= 0.93, P < 0.05) and frailty (RR= 0.88, P < 0.05). Ultra processed foods, however, were associated with a higher risk of frailty (RR= 1.10, P < 0.05) and pre-frailty (R= 1.04, P < 0.05). Researchers saw no significant association between the Mediterranean diet or the ultra-processed food with the occurrence of type 2 diabetes or dyslipidemia.

Overall, researchers found that adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduced risk of frailty, hypertension, pre frailty, and chronic kidney disease. However, higher ultra-processed food scores were associated with a higher risk of frailty among community dwelling adults over 70. Additional research will be needed to verify these findings.

Source:  Clayton-Chubb, Daniel, Nicole V. Vaughan, Elena S. George, Andrew T. Chan, Stuart K. Roberts, Joanne Ryan, Aung Zaw Zaw Phyo et al. “Mediterranean Diet and Ultra-Processed Food Intake in Older Australian Adults—Associations with Frailty and Cardiometabolic Conditions.” Nutrients 16, no. 17 (2024): 2978.

© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).

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Posted November 12, 2024.

Chrystal Moulton BA, PMP, is a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with a focus on premedical studies and is a licensed project manager. She currently resides in Indianapolis, IN.

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