“
TL;DR
This 3-year cohort study of 1,948 Chinese older adults found that a high dietary diversity score was associated with a lower risk of developing frailty.
BMC Geriatrics · 6 authors, 2 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
This 3-year cohort study of 1,948 Chinese older adults found that a high dietary diversity score was associated with a lower risk of developing frailty.
This prospective cohort study analyzed data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey to examine the association between dietary diversity and frailty in 1,948 initially non-frail older adults over a 3-year period. Dietary diversity was measured using a food frequency questionnaire. The study found that, compared to a low dietary diversity score, a high score was associated with a lower risk of frailty, with a risk ratio of 0.72. Furthermore, participants who maintained a consistently high dietary diversity score had a significantly lower risk compared to those with a consistently low score. Specific food groups inversely associated with frailty included meat, beans, fish, nuts, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables. The protective effect was significant for adults aged 65-79 and for those living in town and rural areas. Limitations include potential recall bias from self-reported dietary data and selection bias from the study sample. The findings suggest that promoting dietary diversity may be a strategy for healthy aging.