The Combined Effects of Dietary Diversity and Frailty on Mortality in Older Taiwanese People

Wei-Ching Huang; Yi-Chen Huang; Meei-Shyuan Lee; Jia-Yau Doong; Wen-Harn Pan; Hsing-Yi Chang

doi:10.3390/nu14183825

The Combined Effects of Dietary Diversity and Frailty on Mortality in Older Taiwanese People

Nutrients. 2022 Sep 16;14(18):3825. doi: 10.3390/nu14183825.

Authors

Wei-Ching Huang^{1

2}, Yi-Chen Huang³, Meei-Shyuan Lee^{1

4}, Jia-Yau Doong⁵, Wen-Harn Pan⁶, Hsing-Yi Chang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114201, Taiwan.
² Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 35053, Taiwan.
³ Department of Nutrition, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, Taiwan.
⁴ School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114201, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Nutritional Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan.
⁶ Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the prospective association between frailty and dietary diversity on mortality.

Method: This prospective cohort study used the 2005-2008 Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (N = 330; age ≥ 65 years) and this was linked to the Death Registry where we used the data that was recorded up to 31 January 2020. Dietary intake information was assessed using a 24-h dietary recall and food-frequency questionnaire, which were calculated a dietary diversity score (DDS; range, 0-6) and food consumption frequency. Assessment of frailty phenotypes was based on FRAIL scale which was proposed by the International Academy on Nutrition and Aging.

Results: Frail older adults had a higher risk of all-cause mortality when they were compared to those with robust physiologies (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.13-6.52). Frailty and a lower DDS were associated with a higher risk of mortality (joint adjusted HR: 2.30, 95% CI: 1.11-4.75) which, compared with a robust physiology and higher DDS, were associated with a lower risk of mortality.

Conclusions: Frailty and a lower DDS were associated with a higher mortality. Prefrailty and frailty with a higher DDS were associated with a lower risk of mortality when compared with those with prefrailty and frailty and a lower DDS. These results suggest that eating a wide variety of foods might reduce the risk of mortality in older adults with prefrailty and frailty.

Keywords: Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT); dietary diversity; frailty; mortality; older adults.

MeSH terms

Aged
Diet
Frail Elderly
Frailty*
Humans
Nutritional Status
Prospective Studies

Grants and funding

Funding for this study was provided by grants from the Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan (DOH94-fs-6-4), and a grant from Academia Sinica. These funding sources had no role in the design, methods, subject recruitment, data collection, analysis, or preparation of this manuscript.