Unhealthy dietary patterns noted in older people

Men and current smokers have low scores in fruit and vegetable (FV) dietary pattern, while retirees and older adults have lower scores in animal protein (AP) pattern, as shown in a study.

“The higher scores for healthy and/or lower scores for unhealthy patterns in men, smokers, retirees, and those experiencing social disadvantage suggest these could be target groups for interventions to improve diet quality in older adults,” the investigators said.

This corrected analysis of a retracted paper sought to derive dietary patterns and examine their longitudinal associations with sociodemographic and lifestyle factors in the Tasmanian Older Adult Cohort. A total of 1,098 adults aged ≥50 years were followed for 5 years.

A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake. The investigators identified baseline dietary patterns using exploratory factor analysis and calculated scores at each time point using the weighted sum score method. Linear mixed-effects models were used to assess the associations between energy-adjusted dietary pattern scores and participant characteristics.

The four dietary patterns identified were as follows: FV (vegetables, potatoes, fruits), AP (poultry, fish, red meat), snack (snacks, sweets, nuts), and Western (meat pies, hamburgers, pizzas).

At baseline, FV pattern scores were lower in men and current smokers, and AP scores were lower in older and retired people but higher in men and smokers. The sex difference in AP pattern score saw an increase over time (p=0.012).

Snack dietary pattern score at baseline positively correlated with age and physical activity but was lower in men and current smokers. The effect age had on snack score decreased over time (p=0.035).

Finally, Western dietary pattern scores were lower in older people but higher in men, current smokers, and those living in disadvantaged areas at baseline. The effect of age on Western score lessened over time (p=0.001).