Dietary Patterns and Muscle Mass, Muscle Strength, and Physical Performance in the Elderly: A 3-Year Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: Nutritional support effectively prevents and treats sarcopenia; however, the influence of overall dietary patterns on sarcopenia parameters is less investigated. This study aimed to determine the association between adherence to Mediterranean-style diet (MD), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top (JFG-ST), and modified JFG-ST (mJFG-ST) and muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance in community-dwelling Japanese elderly. DESIGN AND SETTINGS: This prospective cohort study recruited individuals aged over 60 years from a community college in Nagoya, Japan. PARTICIPANTS AND MEASUREMENTS: A total of 666 participants were followed up annually from 2014 to 2017. Demographic data, anthropometric measurements, and sarcopenia parameters including walking speed (WS), hand grip strength in the dominant hand (HGS), and skeletal mass index (SMI) were recorded. Self-recall dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire comprising 29 food groups. Adherence to MD, DASH, JFG-ST, and mJFG-ST was determined by tertiles. RESULTS: At baseline, the mean age of all participants (56.5% women) was 69.4±4.4 years. WS, HGS, and SMI were 1.4±0.2 (m/s), 28.9±8.1 (kg), and 6.7±1.0 (kg/m2), respectively. In longitudinal analysis, participants with higher JFG-ST adherence scores were more likely to have higher SMI (Q3 vs. Q1: mean difference, 0.048; p=0.04) after adjustment, and its benefits were more evident in men (Q2 vs. Q1: mean difference, 0.098; p=0.047; Q3 vs. Q1: mean difference, 0.091; p=0.017) than in women. WS and HGS were not associated with any type of dietary pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to JFG-ST was positively associated with SMI in Japanese community-dwelling elderly adults aged over 60 years, specifically in men. The country-specific dietary recommendations are required to be developed for sarcopenia prevention.

Older Adults' Perceptions of the Built Environment and Associations with Frailty: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study.

It is essential to evaluate frail older adults understanding and execution of survey tools to improve data quality and accurate representation in research. The study tested the feasibility and acceptability of a survey that assesses various measures of functional status in frail older people. The study evaluated: 1) recruitment rate; 2) time to complete questionnaires and difficulties encountered; and 3) acceptability by participants. Validated tools including: FRAIL Scale, EuroQoL 5D-5L, Charlson's Comorbidities Index, Baecke's Physical Activity Questionnaire, Life-Space Assessment, Katz and Lawton ADL and NEWS Walkability Scale were assessed. Twenty-five older patients (63% recruitment rate) of a post-acute restorative program (residential Transition Care Program) in Adelaide, South Australia were interviewed. Although not statistically different, time to complete the overall questionnaire differed between robust, pre-frail and frail participants. Overall, the survey was considered acceptable and feasible, with consideration with NEWS and Life-Space assessment regarding length, phrasing and layout.