George Che
Wed, Nov-02-05, 05:16
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2004;13(Suppl):S126. Related
Articles, Links
Legumes: the most important dietary predictor of survival in
older people of different ethnicities.
Blackberry I, Kouris-Blazos A, Wahlqvist ML, Steen B, Lukito
W, Horie Y.
Public Health Division, National Ageing Research Institute,
Melbourne, Australia.
Introduction: Nutrition plays an important role in the
maintenance and improvement of human life expectancy. The
'Food Habits in Later Life' (FHILL) is a cross-cultural study
conducted under the auspices of the International Union of
Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) and the World Health Organization
(WHO). Baseline data on food habits, health status and social
variables were collected from five cohorts aged 70 and over
(Japanese in Japan, Swedes in Sweden, Anglo-Celtic in
Australia, Greeks in Australia and Greece). Objective: To
identify protective dietary predictors amongst long-lived
elderly people (n=785) from the FHILL population after
controlling for ethnicity. Methods: The validated FFQ were
used to collect data on food intakes in all cohorts except
Japanese where the 3d weighed food record method was employed.
Intakes in gram/week were calculated by multiplying the
serving size by the weekly frequency of intake. These values
were further translated into gram/day and were a! djusted to
2500 kcal (10,460 kJ) for men and 2000 kcal (8,368 kJ) for
women. Food items were grouped into nine food groups based on
key features of the Traditional Mediterranean Diet
(vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts, cereals (including
starchy roots), dairy products, meat, fish, monounsaturated:
saturated ratio, and ethanol). All-cause mortality data were
obtained from up to seven years follow-up. Alternative Cox
Proportional Hazard model adjusted to age at enrolment (in
5-year interval), gender, and smoking was developed to analyse
the survival data. Each Cox model was tested against
controlling for cohorts' location and ethnicity. Results: Only
for legumes intake was the result plausible, consistent and
statistically significant across collective FHILL cohort's
data. There is a 7% - 8% reduction in mortality hazard ratio
for every 20g increase in daily legume intake with adjustment
for location/ethnicity (RR .92; 95% CI 0.85 - 0.99) and
without adjustment for location/ethni! city (RR .93; 95% CI
0.87 - 0.99). Conclusions: This longitudinal study shows that
a higher legume intake is the most protective dietary
predictor of survival amongst the elderly, regardless of their
ethnicity. The significance of legumes persisted even after
controlling for age at enrolment (in 5-year interval), gender,
and smoking. Legumes have been associated with long-lived food
cultures such as the Japanese (soy, tofu, natto, miso), the
Swedes (brown beans, peas), and the Mediterranean people
(lentils, chickpeas, white beans).
Articles, Links
Legumes: the most important dietary predictor of survival in
older people of different ethnicities.
Blackberry I, Kouris-Blazos A, Wahlqvist ML, Steen B, Lukito
W, Horie Y.
Public Health Division, National Ageing Research Institute,
Melbourne, Australia.
Introduction: Nutrition plays an important role in the
maintenance and improvement of human life expectancy. The
'Food Habits in Later Life' (FHILL) is a cross-cultural study
conducted under the auspices of the International Union of
Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) and the World Health Organization
(WHO). Baseline data on food habits, health status and social
variables were collected from five cohorts aged 70 and over
(Japanese in Japan, Swedes in Sweden, Anglo-Celtic in
Australia, Greeks in Australia and Greece). Objective: To
identify protective dietary predictors amongst long-lived
elderly people (n=785) from the FHILL population after
controlling for ethnicity. Methods: The validated FFQ were
used to collect data on food intakes in all cohorts except
Japanese where the 3d weighed food record method was employed.
Intakes in gram/week were calculated by multiplying the
serving size by the weekly frequency of intake. These values
were further translated into gram/day and were a! djusted to
2500 kcal (10,460 kJ) for men and 2000 kcal (8,368 kJ) for
women. Food items were grouped into nine food groups based on
key features of the Traditional Mediterranean Diet
(vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts, cereals (including
starchy roots), dairy products, meat, fish, monounsaturated:
saturated ratio, and ethanol). All-cause mortality data were
obtained from up to seven years follow-up. Alternative Cox
Proportional Hazard model adjusted to age at enrolment (in
5-year interval), gender, and smoking was developed to analyse
the survival data. Each Cox model was tested against
controlling for cohorts' location and ethnicity. Results: Only
for legumes intake was the result plausible, consistent and
statistically significant across collective FHILL cohort's
data. There is a 7% - 8% reduction in mortality hazard ratio
for every 20g increase in daily legume intake with adjustment
for location/ethnicity (RR .92; 95% CI 0.85 - 0.99) and
without adjustment for location/ethni! city (RR .93; 95% CI
0.87 - 0.99). Conclusions: This longitudinal study shows that
a higher legume intake is the most protective dietary
predictor of survival amongst the elderly, regardless of their
ethnicity. The significance of legumes persisted even after
controlling for age at enrolment (in 5-year interval), gender,
and smoking. Legumes have been associated with long-lived food
cultures such as the Japanese (soy, tofu, natto, miso), the
Swedes (brown beans, peas), and the Mediterranean people
(lentils, chickpeas, white beans).