Plant-Based Diet and Risk of Frailty in Older Chinese Adults

Objectives: This study examined the relationship between the consumption of plant-based diet and frailty in older Chinese adults. Design: Prospective cohort study Setting: Community-based setting in 22 provinces of China. Participants: The final sample included data from 3990 older adults from 2011–2014 from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey Measurements: A plant-based diet index (PDI) was calculated based on a qualitative food frequency questionnaire. Frailty was defined using modified Fried criteria. A Generalized Estimating Equation was used to estimate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for frailty. We further performed subgroup analyses stratified by sex and lifestyle factors. Results: 557 cases of frailty were observed. After adjustment for covariates, the RR for frailty of a high PDI was 0.792 (95% CI: 0.644–0.973), relative to a low PDI. During follow-up, compared with respondents with a continually low PDI, the respondents with a continually high PDI had a significantly reduced risk of frailty (RR = 0.683, 95% CI: 0.514–0.908). In further subgroup analysis, a consistently high PDI over time resulted in a significantly reduced risk of frailty for male (RR = 0.591, 95% CI: 0.391–0.893); for never smokers (RR = 0.670, 95% CI: 0.458–0.979); for people who did never consume alcohol (RR = 0.654, 95% CI: 0.454–0.941); and for people with current or former exercise habits (RR = 0.488, 95% CI: 0.313–0.762). Conclusion: Plant-based diet was associated with low risk of frailty in men and in older adults with healthy lifestyle. These findings stress that plant-based diet should be recommended as a dietary strategy to prevent and reduce frailty in older adults; in addition, more dietary interventions along with lifestyle modification should be adopted to promote successful ageing, especially for women.