Diet and Intrinsic Capacity in Middle-aged and Older Adults: A Prospective Analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Background

&

Aims

The World Health Organization proposed intrinsic capacity (IC) as a concept to measure healthy aging from a functional rather than disease-based perspective. While diet is a modifiable factor for non-communicable diseases, the association between diet and IC remains unclear. This study examined the associations between baseline dietary patterns and changes in IC at 3-year follow-up among middle-aged and older adults.

Methods

Baseline and follow-up 1 data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) was used. Adherence to a priori dietary pattern, namely the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) dietary quality score was assessed. Principal component analysis was used to assess posteriori dietary patterns. IC was assessed by the cognition, locomotion, psychological, vitality, and sensory domains. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the associations between baseline dietary patterns and changes in IC score with adjustment for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors.

Results

In total, 30,097 participants were included (50.9% female, mean age 63.0±10.3 years). Two dietary patterns were identified: "Western foods" and "nutrient-rich foods". Higher diet quality (adjusted β=-0.004, SE=0.000, p<0.001) and adherence to the "nutrient-rich foods" dietary pattern (adjusted β=0.021, SE=0.002, p<0.001) at baseline were associated with improvement in IC score at 3-year follow-up, while adherence to the "Western foods" dietary pattern (adjusted β=-0.003, SE=0.002, p=0.037) was associated with a decline in IC score.

Conclusion

Healthier dietary patterns at baseline were associated with improvement in IC at 3-year follow-up among middle-aged and older adults. Our findings highlight the importance of healthy dietary patterns in optimizing IC.