A greater adherence to the Healthy diets (such as the Mediterranean diet) which had been assessed through an index made with biomarkers during a 20-year scientific monitoring is associated with a lower mortality in adults over 65.
In 2018, there were 101.1 million persons aged >65 years (19.7%) living in Europe. In 2050, estimations predict an increase up to 149.2 million of older adults, which will represent almost 30% of the overall population. Strategies to promote healthy aging are one of the pillars to minimize the health care and socio-economic impact of the increasing proportion of older adults in Europe. Healthy aging can help to reduce the burden of chronic diseases, disability, and increasing health expenditure related to a longer life expectancy of older adults.
A Healthy diet is considered one of the fundamental factors to achieve healthy aging
A Healthy diet is considered one of the fundamental factors to achieve healthy aging. Indeed, a growing body of epidemiological evidence shows that healthy diets (such as the Mediterranean diet) may delay or prevent frailty, cognitive decline, and the onset of many chronic diseases in older subjects. Furthermore, several observational studies, including the European Prospective study into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-elderly study, a cohort of 74,607 men and women aged ≥60 years, have shown inverse associations between a greater adherence to different MD scores (MDS), in both the Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean countries, and total mortality.
An adherence to Healthy diet assessed by a panel of dietary biomarkers is inversely associated with the long-term mortality in older adults
A greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet which had been assessed through an index made with biomarkers during a 20-year scientific monitoring is associated with a lower mortality in adults over 65.
According to the conclusions, the analysis of dietary biomarkers in plasma and urine can contribute to the individualized food assessment for old people. The study is based on the InCHIANTI project, conducted in the region of the Italian Tuscany, a study that has been carried out during twenty years in a total of 642 participants (56% women) aged over 65 or more and which enabled researchers to obtain complete data on food biomarkers.
In the study, researchers chose the reference levels of the following dietary biomarkers in the urine: total polyphenols and resveratrol metabolites (from grape intake) and presents in plasma, plasma carotenoids, selenium, vitamin B12, fatty acids and their proportion of monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids. Using a predictive model, they assessed the associations of the Mediterranean diet index and the food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with mortality.
During the twenty years of monitoring, there were 425 deaths (139 due to cardiovascular diseases and 89 due to cancer-related causes). Once the models were analyzed, the score of the Mediterranean diet using the biomarkers was inversely associated with all causes of death.
However, to date, adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD) has been almost exclusively assessed using dietary questionnaires, such as 24-h recalls and food frequency questionnaires (FFQ), which are susceptible to random and systematic errors in estimating dietary intake. However, statistically significant inverse associations were found with their dietary biomarkers: total urinary polyphenols and serum PUFA concentrations, respectively. Both dietary biomarkers are directly related to key features of a MD pattern. Total urinary polyphenol concentrations positively correlate with plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, and nuts, while plasma PUFA levels positively correlate with fish and seafood consumption. Thus, the use of dietary biomarkers may improve the estimations of MD exposure during a long-term follow-up. Other relevant candidates to be included as a dietary biomarker in a panel correlated with MD are plasma levels of carotenoids and selenium. In particular, total carotenoids have been shown as a relevant dietary biomarker for the consumption of vegetables, fruits, cereals, and nuts significantly associated with their health-promoting effects.
Karimi, H.
Master of clinical Nutrition & Dietetics
Reference
- Hidalgo-Liberona N, et al. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet assessed by a novel dietary biomarker score and mortality in older adults: the InCHIANTI cohort study. BMC Medicine. 2021.
