The Association between Dietary Inflammatory Patterns and the Incidence of Frailty and Its Reversal in Older Adults: A Community-Based Longitudinal Follow-Up Study in Taiwan

Abstract

Dietary patterns related to inflammation have garnered great interest in disease prevention. The aims of this study were to evaluate whether a proinflammatory diet affects the incidence of frailty and its reversal in a prospective follow-up study. Data were taken from 5663 community-dwelling individuals ≥ 55 years old in Taiwan. The energy-adjusted dietary inflammatory index (DII) and the Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Patterns-Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan (EDIP-HALT) at baseline were calculated using a food frequency questionnaire. Frailty was assessed with Fried’s criteria in 2008–2013 and 2013–2020. Associations with changes in frailty status were assessed with multinominal logistic regressions and adjusted for major confounders. Higher EDIP-HALST scores (proinflammatory) were associated with higher odds of frailty among baseline robust participants in men (OR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.42–4.21, p-trend < 0.01) and broadline associated in women (OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 0.96–3.98, p-trend = 0.05), but associated with lower odds of reversing back to robust among baseline prefrail participants. However, the later association was only observed in women, and the relationships were stronger in the middle tertile (second vs. first tertile, OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.25–0.65). A pro-inflammatory diet pattern was associated with higher odds of frailty onset in baseline robust participants and lower odds of reversal in baseline prefrail female participants.