Ultra-processed Food Consumption and Incident Frailty: A prospective Cohort Study of Older Adults.

Abstract

BACKGROUND\nUltra-processed food intake has been associated with chronic conditions and mortality. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between ultra-processed food intake and incident frailty in community-dwelling older adults.\n\n\nMETHODS\nProspective cohort study with 1,822 individuals aged ≥60 who were recruited during 2008-2010 in Spain. At baseline, food consumption was obtained using a validated computerized face-to-face dietary history. Ultra-processed foods were identified according to the nature and extent of their industrial processing (NOVA classification). In 2012, incident frailty was ascertained based on Fried s criteria. Statistical analyses were performed with logistic regression and adjusted for the main potential confounders.\n\n\nRESULTS\nAfter a mean follow-up of 3.5 years, 132 cases of frailty were identified. The fully adjusted risks of frailty across increasing quartiles of the percentage of total energy intake from ultra-processed foods were: 0.04 (0.02-0.05), 0.05 (0.03-0.07), 0.09 (0.07-0.12), and 0.11 (0.08-0.14). Results were similar when food consumption was expressed as gram per day/body weight. Regarding ultra-processed food groups, the highest versus the lowest tertiles of consumption of yogurts and fermented milks, cakes and pastries, as well as non-alcoholic beverages (instant coffee and cocoa, packaged juices, and other non-alcoholic drinks, excluding soft drinks) were also significantly related to incident frailty.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nConsumption of ultra-processed foods is strongly associated with frailty risk in older adults. Substituting unprocessed or minimally processed foods for ultra-processed foods would play an important role in the prevention of age-related frailty.