Low Dietary Variety Is Associated with Incident Frailty in Older Adults during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Prospective Cohort Study in Japan

Nutrients · 6 authors, 4 centres

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TL;DR

This one-year prospective cohort study of 1008 community-dwelling Japanese adults aged ≥65 examined the relationship between dietary variety and frailty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lower dietary variety scores were significantly associated with both higher frailty scores and increased odds of incident frailty after adjusting for confounders.

Full summary

673 CHARS

This one-year prospective cohort study enrolled community-dwelling Japanese adults aged ≥65 years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Baseline (August 2020) and follow-up (August 2021) surveys assessed dietary variety using a dietary variety score (DVS) and frailty using a five-item screening tool. Of 1008 non-frail participants at baseline, 113 developed frailty over one year (11.2%, incidence 112.1 cases per 1000 person-years). Linear regression showed a significant negative association between DVS and frailty score (β = −0.045, 95% CI −0.078 to −0.012, p = 0.015) in the fully adjusted model. Intake of milk, dairy, seaweed, and soybeans decreased over the study period.

STUDY TYPE

cohort

SPECIALTY

geriatrics

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

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100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10005648

Low Dietary Variety Is Associated with Incident Frailty in Older Adults during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Prospective Cohort Study in Japan

Nutrients

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ABSTRACT

Background: Stagnation of social activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic probably reduces motivation to maintain a healthy diet. It is important to report on the dietary changes observed in older adults during a period of restriction on outings and to clarify the relationship between dietary variety and frailty. This one-year follow-up study examined the association between frailty and dietary variety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Baseline and follow-up surveys were conducted in August 2020 and August 2021, respectively. The follow-up survey was distributed by mail to 1635 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years. Of the 1235 respondents, 1008 respondents who were non-frail at baseline are included in this study. Dietary variety was examined using a dietary variety score developed for older adults. Frailty was assessed using a five-item frailty screening tool. The outcome was frailty incidence. Results: In our sample, 108 subjects developed frailty. A linear regression analysis revealed a significant association between dietary variety score and frailty score (β, −0.032; 95% CI, −0.064 to −0.001; p = 0.046). This association was also significant in Model 1, adjusted for sex and age, (β, −0.051; 95% CI, −0.083 to −0.019; p = 0.002) and in a multivariate analysis that added adjustments for living alone, smoking, alcohol use, BMI, and existing conditions to Model 1 (β, −0.045; 95% CI, −0.078 to −0.012; p = 0.015). Conclusions: A low dietary variety score was associated with an increased frailty score during the COVID-19 pandemic. The restricted daily routine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will probably continue to have a long-term effect in terms of reduced dietary variety. Thus, vulnerable populations, such as older adults, might require dietary support.

CITATION EXPORT

Miyuki Yokoro, Naoto Otaki, Megumu Yano et al.. Low Dietary Variety Is Associated with Incident Frailty in Older Adults during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Prospective Cohort Study in Japan. Nutrients. (2023). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15051145

AUTHORS

6 · 4 CENTRES

Miyuki Yokoro, Naoto Otaki, Megumu Yano, Tomomi Imamura, Norikazu Tanino, Keisuke Fukuo

1Department of Dietary Life and Food Sciences, Junior College Division, Mukogawa Women’s University, Nishinomiya 663-8558, Hyogo, Japan
2Research Institute for Nutrition Sciences, Mukogawa Women’s University, 6-46 Ikebiraki-cho, Nishinomiya 663-8558, Hyogo, Japan
3Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, School of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Mukogawa Women’s University, Nishinomiya 663-8558, Hyogo, Japan
4Department of Innovative Food Sciences, School of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Mukogawa Women’s University, Nishinomiya 663-8558, Hyogo, Japan

EDITOR / REVIEWER

Gordon I. Smith