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Prospective Analysis of Fruit and Vegetable Variety on Health Outcomes in Community-Dwelling Chinese Older Adults

  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objectives

Evidence on the topic regarding fruit and vegetable (FV) variety and health outcomes among older adults is limited. This study explored the prospective association of fruit variety, vegetable variety and combined FV variety with the risk of sarcopenia, frailty, all-cause and cause-specific mortality in community-dwelling Chinese older adults.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

Community.

Participants

Community-dwelling Chinese older adults aged ≥65 years in Hong Kong.

Measurements

Fruit variety, vegetable variety and combined FV variety at baseline were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire and the variety scores were stratified into tertiles. Sarcopenia (Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019), frailty (Cardiovascular Health Study) and all-cause and cause-specific mortality (retrieved from an official database) were assessed at 14-year follow-up. Adjusted binary logistic regression or Cox proportional hazards model were performed to examine the association of fruit variety, vegetable variety and combined FV variety with each health outcome. Data are presented as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

Baseline dietary data of 3992 participants (median age: 72 years (interquartile range: 68–76), 49.9% women) was available. There were 436 and 371 participants who were newly identified as having sarcopenia and frailty respectively, and 1654 all-cause mortality, 367 cardiovascular diseases (CVD) mortality and 534 cancer mortality over 14-year. Tertiles of fruit variety, vegetable variety and combined FV variety were not associated with sarcopenia, frailty, CVD mortality and cancer mortality. Participants in the highest tertile of fruit variety (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.70–0.95, p-trend 0.010), vegetable variety (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.67–0.89, p-trend <0.001) and combined FV variety (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.67–0.89. p-trend <0.001) showed lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with participants in the lowest tertile.

Conclusion

Among community-dwelling Chinese older adults, FV variety was not associated with sarcopenia, frailty, CVD mortality and cancer mortality over 14-year. Higher fruit variety, vegetable variety and combined FV variety were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality. Promoting a wide FV variety might be recommended to benefit the health and longevity of this population.

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Funding

Funding: This work was supported by grants from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. We thank the generous donation of Ms. Therese Pei Fong Chow.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Suey S. Y. Yeung, T. Kwok & J. Woo

  2. The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhongshan, China

    Z. L. Y. Zhu

  3. Zhongshan City People’s Hospital, Zhongshan, China

    Z. L. Y. Zhu

  4. Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    R. S. M. Chan

  5. Centre for Nutritional Studies, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    J. Woo

  6. Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong

    Suey S. Y. Yeung

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  1. Suey S. Y. Yeung
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suey S. Y. Yeung.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Ethical standards: This study was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. All participants provided written informed consent.

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Yeung, S.S.Y., Zhu, Z.L.Y., Chan, R.S.M. et al. Prospective Analysis of Fruit and Vegetable Variety on Health Outcomes in Community-Dwelling Chinese Older Adults. J Nutr Health Aging 25, 735–741 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-021-1605-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-021-1605-7

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