Department of Dietary Life and Food Sciences, Junior College Division, Mukogawa Women's University, Nishinomiya 663-8558, Hyogo, Japan.
Research Institute for Nutrition Sciences, Mukogawa Women's University, 6-46 Ikebiraki-cho, Nishinomiya 663-8558, Hyogo, Japan.
Nutrients. 2023 Feb 24;15(5):1145. doi: 10.3390/nu15051145.
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.
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.
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; = 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; = 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; = 0.015).
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.
由于 COVID-19 大流行，社交活动停滞不前，可能会降低人们保持健康饮食的动力。报告限制外出期间老年人饮食的变化情况并阐明饮食多样性与虚弱之间的关系很重要。本为期一年的随访研究旨在探讨 COVID-19 大流行期间虚弱与饮食多样性之间的关系。
分别于 2020 年 8 月和 2021 年 8 月进行基线和随访调查。通过邮件向 1635 名年龄≥65 岁的社区居住老年人发放了随访调查。在 1235 名应答者中，纳入了 1008 名在基线时无虚弱的应答者。采用老年人饮食多样性评分评估饮食多样性。采用五分量表虚弱筛查工具评估虚弱。结局为虚弱发生率。
在我们的样本中，108 例出现虚弱。线性回归分析显示，饮食多样性评分与虚弱评分之间存在显著关联（β，-0.032；95%CI，-0.064 至-0.001；P=0.046）。在模型 1 中，调整性别和年龄后，这种关联仍然显著（β，-0.051；95%CI，-0.083 至-0.019；P=0.002），在将独居、吸烟、饮酒、BMI 和现有疾病纳入模型 1 后进行的多变量分析中，这种关联也显著（β，-0.045；95%CI，-0.078 至-0.012；P=0.015）。
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，低饮食多样性评分与虚弱评分增加相关。COVID-19 大流行导致的日常生活受限可能会继续对饮食多样性减少产生长期影响。因此，老年人等脆弱人群可能需要饮食支持。
