(P22-044-25) Improved Dietary Quality Is Associated With Lowered Risks of Developing Geriatric Syndromes in Taiwanese Older Adults: The Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan (HALST)

Objectives: To examine the baseline and the longitudinal change of dietary quality on the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and frailty.

Methods: Community-dwellers (2467 for MCI and 2957 for frailty), aged ≥55 years, recruited between 2009–2013 into HALST, were followed for 5 years. Data on food frequency questionnaire (72 items), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and modified Fried frailty phenotypes were used for statistical analysis. Reduced rank regression was employed to derive dietary pattern associated with MMSE and/or negative frailty scores. Dietary pattern scores were estimated by weighting amounts of various food groups by derived loading factors. Participants were grouped into tertiles of dietary pattern scores and categorized as having improved or deteriorated dietary quality based on their changes over time. Logistic regression was used to associate dietary score with two outcomes, adjusting confounders.

Results: Dietary patterns differed only slightly by sex. In general, optimal patterns were characterized by higher intakes of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, tea (for men), coffee (for MCI-men), allium (for frailty-men and for women), soymilk/bean curd (for MCI-women), and lower consumption of refined grains, Chinese bao (for frailty-men), red meats (for frailty-men), dairy (for women). This pattern shares characteristics of the Mediterranean diet, featured with Taiwanese ethnic foods such as tea and soy products.

Participants were classified to tertiles according to their baseline dietary score. They were also separated into two groups (improved vs deteriorated) depending on their score changes from baseline. Regardless of the baseline tertiles, individuals who achieved an improved score were associated with a lower risk of developing MCI (p = 0.01) or frailty (p < 0.0001). After adjusting for changes in dietary score, a significant downward trend in risk was observed with higher baseline tertiles for MCI (p for trend = 0.047), while only a borderline significant trend was noted for frailty (p for trend = 0.082).

Conclusions: This study showed the impacts of both baseline and longitudinal change of dietary pattern score on the risk of developing MCI and frailty. Efforts to improve dietary quality are essential for healthy aging.

Funding Sources: National Health Research Institutes and Taipei Medical University