| 1. |
- Jeruszka-Bielak, Marta, et al.
(författare)
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Are Nutrition-Related Knowledge and Attitudes Reflected in Lifestyle and Health Among Elderly People? A Study Across Five European Countries
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Physiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-042X. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Nutrition-related knowledge (NRK) and nutrition-related attitudes (NRAs) are necessary for dietary changes toward healthier dietary patterns. In turn, healthier dietary patterns can be beneficial in maintaining health of older adults. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether NRK and NRAs were associated with lifestyle and health features among older adults (65+ years) from five European countries (France, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and United Kingdom). Methods: Within the European project NU-AGE, 1,144 healthy elderly volunteers (65-79 years) were randomly assigned to two groups: intervention (NU-AGE diet) or control. After 1-year of follow-up, both NRK and NRAs were assessed during exit interviews, in combination with a number of lifestyle and health variables (e.g., physical activity, smoking, alcohol use, BMI, self-assessed health status). Multivariable linear regression models were used in data analysis. Results: In the NU-AGE study sample, good NRK was associated with lower BMI and higher physical activity. More positive NRAs were related to lower BMI and self-reported very good or good appetite. Moreover, both NRK and NRAs were associated with some socio-economic determinants, like financial situation, age, education, living area (for NRK), and country (for NRAs). Participants in the intervention group showed a better NRK (beta = 0 367 [95% CI 0.117; 0.617], p = 0.004) and more positive NRAs beta = 0.838 [95% CI 0.318, 1.358], p = 0.002) than those in the control group. Higher self-evaluated knowledge was also significantly related to more positive NRAs (p < 0.001). The most popular sources of nutrition information were food labels, books and magazines on health, the dietitian and the doctor's office, although their importance varied significantly among countries, and, to a lesser extent, between women and men and between intervention and control group. Conclusion: Higher NRK and NRA scores were associated with lower BMI and higher physical activity level. Therefore, a good nutrition-related knowledge and positive nutrition-related attitudes can strongly and positively influence the health status and quality of life among the older population. These results offer a great opportunity for policy makers to implement educational programs in order to counteract the epidemic of obesity and to improve the health span of European population.
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| 2. |
- Marseglia, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of the NU-AGE Diet on Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults : A Randomized Controlled Trial
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Physiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-042X. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Findings from animal and epidemiological research support the potential neuroprotective benefits from healthy diets. However, to establish diet neuroprotective causal relations, evidence from dietary intervention studies is needed. NU-AGE is the first multicenter intervention assessing whether a diet targeting health in aging can counteract the age-related physiological changes in different organs, including the brain. In this study, we specifically investigated the effects of NU-AGE's dietary intervention on age related cognitive decline.Materials and Methods: NU-AGE randomized trial (NCT01754012, clinicaltrials.gov) included 1279 relatively healthy older-adults, aged 65-79 years, from five European centers. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups: control (n = 638), following a habitual diet; and, intervention (n = 641), given individually tailored dietary advice (NU-AGE diet). Adherence to the NU-AGE diet was measured over follow-up, and categorized into tertiles (low, moderate, high). Cognitive function was ascertained at baseline and at 1-year follow-up with the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD)-Neuropsychological Battery and five additional domain-specific single cognitive tests. The raw scores from the CERAD subtests [excluding the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)] and the single tests were standardized into Z-scores. Global cognition (measured with MMSE and CERAD total score), and five cognitive domains (perceptual speed, executive function, episodic memory, verbal abilities, and constructional praxis) were created. Cognitive changes as a function of the intervention were analyzed with multivariable mixed effects models.Results: After the 1-year follow-up, 571 (89.1%) controls and 573 (89.8%) from the intervention group participated in the post-intervention assessment. Both control and intervention groups showed improvements in global cognition and in all cognitive domains after 1 year, but differences in cognitive changes between the two groups were not statistically significant. However, participants with higher adherence to the NU-AGE diet showed statistically significant improvements in global cognition [beta 0.20 (95%CI 0.004, 0.39), p-value = 0.046] and episodic memory [beta 0.15 (95%Cl 0.02, 0.28), p-value = 0.025] after 1 year, compared to those adults with lower adherence.Discussion: High adherence to the culturally adapted, individually tailored, NU-AGE diet could slow down age-related cognitive decline, helping to prevent cognitive impairment and dementia.
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| 3. |
- Montiel Rojas, Diego, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Short Telomere Length Is Related to Limitations in Physical Function in Elderly European Adults
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Physiology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-042X. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present study aims to explore the potential influence of leucocyte telomere length (LTL) on both a single indicator and a composite construct of physical functioning in a large European population of elderly men and women across diverse geographical locations. A total of 1,221 adults (65-79 years) were recruited from five European countries within the framework of NU-AGE study. The physical functioning construct was based on the 36-item Short Form Health Survey. Handgrip strength was used as a single indicator of muscle function and LTL was assessed using quantitative real-time PCR. Women had significantly longer (p < 0.05) LTL than men. Participants in Poland had significantly shorter LTL than in the other study centers, whereas participants in the Netherlands had significantly longer LTL than most of the other centers (p < 0.01). An analysis of LTL as a continuous outcome against physical functioning by using linear models revealed inconsistent findings. In contrast, based on an analysis of contrasting telomere lengths (first vs. fifth quintile of LTL), a significant odds ratio (OR) of 1.7 (95% CI: 1.1 -2.6; p < 0.05) of having functional limitation was observed in those belonging to the first LTL quintile compared to the fifth. Interestingly, having the shortest LTL was still related to a higher likelihood of having physical limitation when compared to all remaining quintiles (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1 -2.1; p < 0.05), even after adjustment by study center, age, sex, and overweight status. Collectively, our findings suggest that short LTL is an independent risk factor that accounts for functional decline in elderly European populations. The influence of LTL on functional limitation seems driven by the detrimental effect of having short telomeres rather than reflecting a linear dose-response relationship.
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| 4. |
- Santoro, Aurelia, et al.
(författare)
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A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Body Composition Among Healthy Elderly From the European NU-AGE Study : Sex and Country Specific Features
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Physiology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-042X. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Body composition (BC) is an emerging important factor for the characterization of metabolic status. The assessment of BC has been studied in various populations and diseases such as obesity, diabetes, endocrine diseases as well as physiological and paraphysiological conditions such as growth and aging processes, and physical training. A gold standard technique for the assessment of human BC at molecular level is represented by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), which is able to precisely assess the body mass (and areal bone mineral density-aBMD) on a regional and whole-body basis. For the first time, within the framework of the NU-AGE project, BC has been assessed by means of a whole-body DXA scan in 1121 sex-balanced free-living, apparently healthy older adults aged 65-79 years enrolled in 5 European countries (Italy, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Poland). The aim of this analysis is to provide a complete profile of BC in healthy elderly participants from five European countries and to investigate country- and sex-related differences by state-of-the-art DXA technology. To compare BC data collected in different centers, specific indexes and ratios have been used. Non-parametric statistical tests showed sex-specific significant differences in certain BC parameters. In particular, women have higher fat mass (FM) (Fat/Lean mass ratio: by 67%, p < 2.2e-16) and lower lean mass (Lean Mass index: by -18%, p < 2.2e-16) than men. On the other hand, men have higher android FM than women (Android/gynoid FM ratio: by 56%, p < 2.2e-16). Interesting differences also emerged among countries. Polish elderly have higher FM (Fat/Lean mass ratio: by 52%, p < 2.2e-16) and lower lean mass (Skeletal Mass index: by -23%, p < 2.2e-16) than elderly from the other four countries. At variance, French elderly show lower FM (Fat/Lean mass ratio: by -34%, p < 2.2e-16) and higher lean mass (Skeletal Mass index: by 18%, p < 2.2e-16). Moreover, five BC profiles in women and six in men have been identified by a cluster analysis based on BC parameters. Finally, these data can serve as reference for normative average and variability of BC in the elderly populations across Europe.
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