R. Silva, N. Pizato, F. da Mata, A. Figueiredo, M. Ito, M.G. Pereira
J Nutr Health Aging. 2018;22(6):655-663
Population aging is increasing and this process together with its characteristics influence the prevalence and incidence of chronic conditions and musculoskeletal-functional outcomes such as frailty, functional disability and sarcopenia. Nutritional strategies focused on dietary patterns, such as a Mediterranean diet, can be protective from these outcomes.
This study aimed at investigating the association between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and frailty, functional disability and sarcopenia in community-dwelling older people.
We systematically reviewed electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and others) and grey literature for articles investigating the relationship between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and frailty, functional disability and sarcopenia in community-dwelling people aged 60 and over. Study selection, quality of study assessment and data extraction were conducted independently by two authors. Random effects meta-analyses were performed, and pooled Odds Ratios (OR) were obtained.
After the literature search, screening and eligibility investigation, we included 12 studies, with a total of 20,518 subjects. A higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was found to be inversely associated with frailty (OR 0.42, 95% CI: 0.28-0.65, I2=24.9%, p=0.262) and functional disability (OR 0.75, 95% CI: 0.61-0.93, I2=0.0%, p=0.78). Highly different study characteristics prevented us from performing a meta-analysis for sarcopenia. Cohort data indicated no association between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and sarcopenia; however, cross-sectional results showed a positive relationship.




Comment: A Mediterranean diet is protective of frailty and functional disability, but not of sarcopenia. More longitudinal studies are needed to understand the relationship between a Mediterranean diet and sarcopenia.