Mediterranean Diet Tied to Frailty Prevention

TUESDAY, July 12, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet is associated with frailty prevention over time, according to a study published May 12 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Courtney L. Millar, Ph.D., from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues examined the impact of a Mediterranean-style diet in reducing frailty. The analysis included 2,384 nonfrail adults (mean age, 60 years) from the Framingham Offspring Study prospectively studied for at least one year.

The researchers found that in adjusted models, a 1-unit higher Mediterranean-style dietary pattern score (MSDPS) reduced the odds of frailty (odds ratio [OR], 0.97; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.96 to 0.99). The odds were also reduced with each 10-mg higher total carotenoid and vitamin E intake (ORs [95 percent CIs], 0.84 [0.73 to 0.98] and 0.99 [0.98 to 1.00], respectively). The associations for individuals younger than 60 years were stronger for each 1-unit higher MSDPS (OR, 0.93; 95 percent CI, 0.89 to 0.96) and total carotenoid intake (OR, 0.59; 95 percent CI, 0.41 to 0.82) versus older individuals (ORs [95 percent CIs], 0.98 [0.97 to 1.00] and 0.92 [0.79 to 1.08], respectively).

“Given these findings, the use of the Mediterranean-style diet and higher carotenoid intake may be useful strategies for frailty prevention,” the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry.

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