Dietary Patterns and Geriatric Syndromes in older Mexican adults: Analysis of the 2018-19 National Health and Nutrition Survey

Background

The study of dietary patterns in older adults (OA) and their association with geriatric syndromes (GS) is scarce in Latin America.

Objective

To describe the association of dietary patterns with GS in the Mexican older adult population, using data from the 2018-19 National Health and Nutrition Survey.

Methods

Dietary data were collected from 3,511 adults (≥60 years of age, both sexes) using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Dietary patterns were derived by principal component analysis based on the consumption of 162 foods from 24 food groups. The GS studied were: frailty, depressive symptoms (DS), low appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM); additionally, we studied inflammation (serum CRP>5 mg/L). Logistic regression models were used.

Results

Four major dietary patterns were identified: a) “Western”, b) “Prudent”, c) “Soups”, and d) “Traditional”. The middle and higher tertiles of the “Prudent” pattern were associated with lower odds of DS (OR 0.71, p = 0.04; and OR 0.61, p = 0.008), respectively. The second tertile of the “Soups” pattern was associated with lower odds of low ASMM (OR 0.68, p = 0031) and inflammation (OR 0.58, p = 0.022). The highest tertile of the “Traditional” pattern was associated with low ASMM (OR 1.55, p = 0.008) and lower odds of inflammation (OR 0.69, p = 0.044). No association was found between the “Western” dietary pattern and GS.

Conclusions

Three of four major dietary patterns were associated with GS in older Mexican adults. Further studies are needed to address strategies to improve diet quality in this age group and its association with health and functional outcomes.