Diet and its relationship to sarcopenia in community dwelling Iranian elderly: a cross sectional study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

Sarcopenia is associated with frailty and disability among the elderly and imposes significant costs on health care systems. We tested whether adherence to a particular dietary pattern was associated with sarcopenia among the elderly in a district of Tehran, Iran.

METHODS:

We used a semiquantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire to assess the dietary intake of 300 randomly-selected elderly men and women (at least 55 y old) living in the sixth district of Tehran; and the dietary patterns of the subjects were obtained using principal component analysis. We performed a logistic regression to measure the effect of adherence to each dietary pattern on the odds of sarcopenia.

RESULTS:

Subjects in the highest tertile of the Mediterranean dietary pattern, characterized by a higher consumption of olive oil, fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts, had a lower odds ratio for sarcopenia than those in the lowest tertile (OR = 0.42; 95% CI = 0.18-0.97; P for trend = 0.04). In contrast, adherence to the Western dietary pattern, characterized by a high consumption of sugar, soy, and fast foods, was not associated with sarcopenia (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.21-1.24; P for trend = 0.13). Similarly, adherence to the Mixed dietary pattern, characterized by a high consumption of animal proteins, potatoes, and refined grains, did not affect the odds of sarcopenia (OR = 1.45; 95% CI = 0.66-3.19; P for trend = 0.95).

CONCLUSIONS:

This study suggests that adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower odds of sarcopenia among the Iranian elderly.

• Authors: Rezvan Hashemi, Ahmadreza Dorosty Motlagh, Ramin Heshmat, Ahmad Esmaillzadeh, Moloud Payab, Mahsa Yousefinia, Fereydoun Siassi, Parvin Pasalar, Fereshteh Baygi
• Journal: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) (Nutrition) Vol. 31 Issue 1 Pg. 97-104 (Jan 2015) ISSN: 1873-1244 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 25441592 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Carbohydrates
• Olive Oil

Topics

• Aged
• Body Mass Index
• Carbohydrates (administration & dosage)
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Diet, Mediterranean
• Diet, Western
• Energy Intake
• Fast Foods
• Female
• Fruit
• Humans
• Independent Living
• Iran (epidemiology)
• Logistic Models
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Motor Activity
• Multivariate Analysis
• Muscle, Skeletal
• Nuts
• Olive Oil (administration & dosage)
• Patient Compliance
• Principal Component Analysis
• Risk Factors
• Sarcopenia (epidemiology)
• Soy Foods
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Vegetables