Abstract
Objectives
To characterize dietary patterns among a diverse sample of older adults (≥ 65 years).
Design
Cross-sectional.
Setting
Five counties in west central Alabama.
Participants
Community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries (N=416; 76.8 ±5.2 years, 56% female, 39% African American) in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Study of Aging.
Measurements
Dietary data collected via three, unannounced 24-hour dietary recalls was used to identify dietary patterns. Foods were aggregated into 13 groups. Finite mixture modeling (FMM) was used to classify individuals into three dietary patterns. Differences across dietary patterns for nutrient intakes, sociodemographic, and anthropometric measurements were examined using chi-square and general linear models.
Results
Three dietary patterns were derived. A “More healthful” dietary pattern, with relatively higher intakes of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, eggs, nuts, legumes and dairy, was associated with lower energy density, higher quality diets as determined by Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2005 scores and higher intakes of fiber, folate, vitamins C and B6, calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc. The “Westernlike” pattern was defined by an intake of starchy vegetables, refined grains, meats, fried poultry and fish, oils and fats and was associated with lower HEI-2005 scores. The “Low produce, high sweets” pattern was characterized by high saturated fat, and low dietary fiber and vitamin C intakes. The strongest predictors of better diet quality were female gender and non-Hispanic white race.
Conclusion
The dietary patterns identified may provide a useful basis on which to base dietary interventions targeted at older adults. Examination of nutrient intakes regardless of the dietary pattern suggests that older adults are not meeting nutrient recommendations and should continue to be encouraged to choose high quality diets.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Nicolas AS, Andrieu S, Nourhashemi F et al. (2001) Successful aging and nutrition. Nutr Rev 59:S88–S91; discussion S91-82.
Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Ogden CL et al. (2010) Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999–2008. Jama 303:235–241.
Park S-Y, Murphy SP, Wilkens LR et al. (2005) Dietary Patterns Using the Food Guide Pyramid Groups Are Associated with Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Factors: The Multiethnic Cohort Study. J Nutr 135:843–849.
Allman RM, Sawyer P & Roseman JM (2006) The UAB Study of Aging: background and insights into life-space mobility among older Americans in rural and urban settings. Aging Health 2:417–429.
Yesavage JA, Brink TL, Rose TL et al. (1982) Development and validation of a geriatric depression screening scale: a preliminary report. J Psychiatr Res 17:37–49.
Pfeiffer E (1975) A short portable mental status questionnaire for the assessment of organic brain deficit in elderly patients. J Am Geriatr Soc 23:433–441.
Allman RM, Sawyer P, Crowther M et al. (2011) Predictors of 4-Year Retention Among African American and White Community-Dwelling Participants in the UAB Study of Aging. Gerontologist 51:S46–S58.
Folstein MF, Folstein SE & McHugh PR (1975) “Mini-mental state”. A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res 12:189–198.
The Alabama Rural Health Association (1998) Health Status of Rural Alabamians. Montgomery, AL.
Ledikwe JH, Blanck HM, Khan LK et al. (2005) Dietary energy density determined by eight calculation methods in a nationally representative United States population. J Nutr 135:273–278.
Miller PE, Mitchell DC, Harala PL et al. (2011) Development and evaluation of a method for calculating the Healthy Eating Index-2005 using the Nutrition Data System for Research. Public Health Nutr 14:306–313.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture (2005) Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005, 6th ed. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Schwarz G (1978) Estimating the Dimension of a Model. The Annals of Statistics 6:461–464.
Tooze JA, Vitolins MZ, Smith SL et al. (2007) High levels of low energy reporting on 24-hour recalls and three questionnaires in an elderly low-socioeconomic status population. J Nutr 137:1286–1293.
McCrory MA, Hajduk CL & Roberts SB (2002) Procedures for screening out inaccurate reports of dietary energy intake. Public Health Nutr 5:873–882.
Guenther PM, Juan WY, Reedy J et al. (2007) Diet quality of Americans in 1994–96 and 2001–02 as measured by the Healthy Eating Index-2005. Washington D. C.
Juan WY, Guenther PM & Kott PS (2008) Diet quality of older Americans in 1994–96 and 2001–02 as measured by the Healthy Eating Index-2005. Washington D. C.
Savoca MR, Arcury TA, Leng X et al. (2009) The diet quality of rural older adults in the South as measured by healthy eating index-2005 varies by ethnicity. J Am Diet Assoc 109:2063–2067.
Anderson A, Harris T, Houston D et al. (2010) Relationships of dietary patterns with body composition in older adults differ by gender and PPAR-γ Pro12Ala genotype. European Journal of Nutrition 49:385–394.
Schulze MB, Hoffmann K, Kroke A et al. (2001) Dietary patterns and their association with food and nutrient intake in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Potsdam study. Br J Nutr 85:363–373.
Barker ME, McClean SI, Thompson KA et al. (1990) Dietary behaviours and sociocultural demographics in Northern Ireland. Br J Nutr 64:319–329.
Eng PM, Kawachi I, Fitzmaurice G et al. (2005) Effects of marital transitions on changes in dietary and other health behaviours in US male health professionals. J Epidemiol Community Health 59:56–62.
Ledikwe JH, Smiciklas-Wright H, Mitchell DC et al. (2003) Nutritional risk assessment and obesity in rural older adults: a sex difference. Am J Clin Nutr 77:551–558.
Locher JL, Ritchie CS, Roth DL et al. (2005) Social isolation, support, and capital and nutritional risk in an older sample: ethnic and gender differences. Soc Sci Med 60:747–761.
Boynton A, Neuhouser ML, Sorensen B et al. (2008) Predictors of Diet Quality among Overweight and Obese Postmenopausal Women. J Am Diet Assoc 108:125–130.
Thiele S, Mensink GB & Beitz R (2004) Determinants of diet quality. Public Health Nutr 7:29–37.
Bailey RL, Mitchell DC, Miller C et al. (2007) Assessing the effect of underreporting energy intake on dietary patterns and weight status. J Am Diet Assoc 107:64–71.
Ledikwe JH, Smiciklas-Wright H, Mitchell DC et al. (2004) Dietary patterns of rural older adults are associated with weight and nutritional status. J Am Geriatr Soc 52:589–595.
Schroder H, Vila J, Marrugat J et al. (2008) Low energy density diets are associated with favorable nutrient intake profile and adequacy in free-living elderly men and women. J Nutr 138:1476–1481.
Nagin DS (2005) Group-based Modeling of Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
U.S. Bureau of the Census (2011) The Older Population: 2010. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office.
Cubanski J, Huang J, Damico A et al. (2010) Medicare Chartbook, 4th ed. Menlo Park, CA: The Kaiser Family Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hsiao, P.Y., Mitchell, D.C., Coffman, D.L. et al. Dietary patterns and diet quality among diverse older adults: The university of Alabama at Birmingham study of aging. J Nutr Health Aging 17, 19–25 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-012-0082-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-012-0082-4