Because of an increase in the number of elderly and the problems of nutrition associated with them, we considered it of interest to study the eating habits of 352 elderly persons (134 males and 218 ...females) 65 to 95 years of age in an urban area in the north of Spain (Oviedo). The purpose of this study was specifically to describe the differences in the eating habits of elderly institutionalized persons and those resident at home and to detect the nutritional status of 161 subjects living in institutions and 191 living at home. The weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and triceps skinfold (PTP) of each were recorded. To determine the eating habits, a questionnaire measuring the frequency of food consumption was distributed to the subjects. The mean age of the institutionalized elderly was greater than those living independently. The mean values of BMI indicated overweight in all cases, with values around those of obesity in independent females (BMI=29.97). The value of PTP was found to be within normal limits, but a greater percentage of institutionalized subjects showed PTP values of less than P10 (males, 10.2%; females, 11%). Food habits showed that the consumption of fish and margarine/oil was greater in institutionalized subjects of both sexes. Independent hales consumed more vegetables; females consumed more milk and greens. Milk, vegetables, fruit, and fish were the food groups with consumption frequencies less than those recommended. A greater Percentage of noncompliance was seen among the institutionalized elderly
Low selenium levels in humans have been associated with several pathologies; however, an earlier animal investigation found a direct association between Se intake and total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) ...concentrations. To date, the importance of serum selenium levels in association with tHcy in humans has not been determined. We evaluated the cross-sectional association of blood selenium concentrations with plasma tHcy and other determinants of this cardiovascular disease risk factor. We estimated protein intake and measured the blood status of selenium, tHcy, and several other related factors in serum such as folate, vitamin B-12, and creatinine. Serum selenium was inversely associated with tHcy, explaining 5.8% of tHcy variance with respect to 2.2% accounted for by serum folate. Furthermore, there was a 63% decreased risk of higher tHcy concentrations (>14 μmol/L) for subjects with serum selenium in the highest tertile (P = 0.013). We also found an inverse association of protein intake with tHcy in men (β = −0.144; P = 0.036), which disappeared after controlling for serum Se concentrations (β = −0.055; P = 0.003). In conclusion, selenium should be considered as a potential factor to lower tHcy. In addition, the described association between protein intake and homocysteine levels could be mediated by this trace element.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Oxidative stress has been related to ageing and risk of death. To determine whether oxidative status was associated with all-cause risk of death we carried out a prospective study in 154 non-smoking ...Spanish elderly without major illness. Baseline glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were analysed in plasma and erythrocytes. α-tocopherol, β-carotene, lycopene and retinol were determined in serum samples and malondialdehyde (MDA), as a lipid peroxidation marker, in plasma. Mean survival time was 4.3 years. A total of 31 death cases (20.1%) occurred during the follow-up. Plasma-MDA predicted mortality independently of all other variables, while erythrocyte-SOD (e-SOD), β-carotene and α-tocopherol were positively associated with survival. α-tocopherol and MDA were revealed as independent predictors in a joint survival model, being the group with low MDA and high α-tocopherol that with the lowest mortality. In conclusion, a higher risk of death was associated with increased lipid peroxidation and lower antioxidant defenses.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background: Although a relationship between diet and mortality is well recognized, there is little information on the extent to which different food sources contribute to survival in elderly people. ...Objective: To examine the effect of individual food groups on mortality in institutionalized elderly people from Asturias (Northern Spain) after 6 years of follow-up. Method: The dietary intake of 288 elderly people aged 60–85 years was assessed using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Age, gender, energy intake, chewing ability, hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, physical activity, smoking habit, self-perceived health, education level and the institution from which participants were recruited were covariates in Cox regression models analyzing the effect of food on survival. Results: Fruit intake was found to be inversely associated with overall mortality. Multivariate adjusted mortality rate ratio (95% CI) per 1 SD increase in fruit intake was 0.714 (0.519–0.981). On the contrary, each 1 SD of potato intake led to a 32% higher risk of death (RR (95% CI) = 1.319 (1.033–1.685)). Conclusion: A high intake of fruit late in life was associated with a longer survival. An inverse association between potato intake and survival was also observed, but further research is necessary before any firm conclusions about the possible harmful aspects of potato consumption can be drawn.
Objective: We hypothesized an association between physiological amounts of different classes and subclasses of polyphenol from a subject's regular diet and lipid peroxidation.
Subjects and Methods: ...Diet was assessed through direct observation and a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Daily polyphenol intake, total as well as subgroups, and plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined together with other variables used as covariates (age, sex, energy intake, Quetelet index, plasma glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides, and tobacco use) in 159 institutionalized elderly subjects (68 men, 91 women) with a mean age of 73.1 years.
Results: Flavonoid intake was inversely associated with MDA in a multiple regression analysis. The potential effect of flavonoids was mainly ascribed to flavanols. A diet score based on the 5 dietary components previously identified as the major contributors to the intake of flavanols was developed. None of the food components was associated with MDA individually, but the overall diet score was inversely associated in a logistic regression analysis.
Conclusions: This study represents one of the few attempts to date to evaluate the impact of phenol intake on oxidative damage. Flavonoids intake must be promoted to reduce the negative health effects of oxidative stress in elderly people.
The relationship between alcohol consumption and stroke is uncertain. Heavy alcohol consumption has been associated with an increased risk of stroke, while light drinking appears to be protective. ...However, the evidence is not uniform. We sought to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and stroke, according to stroke type. We performed a population-based case-control study from September 1990 to December 1991. The study comprised 467 incident cases of stroke and 477 controls aged between 40 and 85. Case was defined following WHO criteria and control was randomly selected from the study base population. Alcohol exposure was obtained by medical interview. We found that consumption of less than 30 g./day of alcohol was protective against all stroke types combined, the multivariated adjusted odds ratio (OR) was 0.58 (95% confidence interval CI, 0.41–0.83). Moderate alcohol drinking is also protective against all cerebral infarction combined (OR = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.35–0.80) and cortical infarction (OR = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.18–0.86). Drinking up to 30 g/day of alcohol has a borderline protective effect on deep cerebral infarction (OR = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.16–1.02) and has no effect on intracerebral hemorrhage (OR = 0.88; 95% CI, 0.44–1.74). Heavy alcohol drinking, over 140 g/day, is a risk factor for all stroke types combined (OR = 3.2; 95% CI, 1.1–9.7), all cerebral infarction combined (OR = 5.0; 95% CI, 1.5–16.3), small deep cerebral infarction (OR = 9.7; 95% CI, 2.6–36.7), intracerebral hemorrhage (OR = 6.2; 95% CI, 1.3–24.0), and is marginally associated with superficial cerebral infarction (OR = 4.6; 95% CI, 1.0–20.6). The relationship between alcohol and stroke depends on the alcohol dose and the pathology of the disease. Atherosclerosis of the large and medium cerebral arteries is found mainly in superficial cerebral infarction, and this type of stroke shows a J-shaped relationship with alcohol similar to that found in coronary heart disease, suggesting that they are similar diseases. On the other hand, arteriosclerosis of the penetrating arteries has been found in deep cerebral infarction and intracerebral hemorrhage, while atherosclerosis is not prominent. This may explain why alcohol does not have a protective effect on cerebral hemorrhage whereas heavy drinking is a strong risk factor in these two types of stroke.
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IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Oxidative stress has been suggested as one of the physiopathologic conditions underlying the association of total plasma homocysteine (p-tHcy) with cardiovascular disease (CVD), but this hypothesis ...has not been validated in human epidemiological studies. We measured plasma and erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), along with serum lipid-soluble antioxidants alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene, lycopene and retinol, in a sample of 123 healthy elderly subjects (54 men, 69 women). Plasma malondialdehyde (p-MDA) was determined as a marker of lipid peroxidation, and p-tHcy was quantified by HPLC. No significant differences were found for p-MDA, GPx or SOD activities or serum antioxidant concentrations, in subjects with elevated p-tHcy (≥15 mol/l) as compared to those with lower plasma homocysteine. Hyperhomocysteinemia did not lead to increased risk of having the highest p-MDA values, in either sex. We found no evidence that p-tHcy was associated with lipid peroxidation in this elderly human sample. Our results do not support the view that hyperhomocysteinemia would induce an adaptive response of antioxidant systems, either. More epidemiologic and clinical research is needed to clarify whether homocysteine promotes atherosclerosis by means of an oxidative stress mechanism.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In studies from Italy and Greece, a Mediterranean dietary pattern was shown to favorably affect life expectancy in the elderly population. This pattern is thought to reduce the risk of cancer in ...addition to being cardioprotective.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the interactive effects of the Mediterranean diet and age with respect to survival after controlling for several other variables that could be considered as confounders: age, sex, body mass index, albumin concentration, physical activity, self-assessment of health, and dieting in response to chronic conditions.
This was a cohort study involving 161 nonsmoking elderly subjects (74 subjects aged <80 y and 87 subjects aged ≥80 y) living in Spain. The subjects were followed up for ≥9 y. Diet was assessed with a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire.
A diet score based on 8 characteristics of the traditional diet in the Mediterranean region was associated with a significant reduction in overall mortality in elderly subjects aged <80 y but not in subjects aged ≥80 y. A unit increase in the diet score predicted a 31% reduction in mortality in subjects aged <80 y (95% CI: 7%, 57%).
Efforts to promote adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern appear to be worthwhile in persons aged <80 y, in whom the diet predicts survival, but we do not have any available evidence that such a diet benefits subjects aged ≥80 y.
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CMK, GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Oxidative stress is recognized as one of the major contributors to the increased risk of several diseases. Many recent population studies have established a close link between antioxidant defense and ...lowered risk of morbidity and mortality from cancer and heart disease, but little is known about the cooperative interactions of antioxidants. We examined the cross-sectional independent and interactive association of serum lipid-soluble antioxidant levels and free radical scavenging enzymes to serum malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, as a marker of oxidative damage. The participants were 160 nonsmoker institutionalized elderly. Upper tertile values of erythrocyte-superoxide-dismutase (E-SOD) constituted the strongest-associated single compound with a 74% decreased risk of high MDA. Upper tertiles of carotenoids and f -tocopherol independently showed a similar lowering of risk of about 57%. The highest tertiles of lycopene and either g -carotene or f -tocopherol simultaneously reveal a higher decreased risk for oxidative damage (74 and 71%, respectively), very similar to those in the upper tertiles of all these three vitamins (75%). This study represents one of the few attempts to date to understand the interactive effect between antioxidants and suggests that lipid-soluble antioxidants act not individually, but rather cooperatively with each other. The efficacy of this interaction is more effective when lycopene is present.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
50.
Alcohol and Stroke Caicoya, Martı́n; Rodriguez, Teresa; Corrales, Carmen ...
Journal of clinical epidemiology,
7/1999, Volume:
52, Issue:
7
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
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IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
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