“Although a relationship between diet and mortality is well recognised, there is little information on the extent to which different food sources contribute to survival in elderly people,” researchers wrote in a study published in the journal Karger.
To plug this gap, researchers examined the effect of individual food groups on mortality in institutionalised elderly people from Asturias (Northern Spain) after six years of follow-up.
The dietary intake of 288 elderly people aged 60-85 years was assessed using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire.
Age, gender, energy intake, chewing ability, hyperglycaemia, hypercholesterolemia, physical activity, smoking habit, self-perceived health, education level and the institution from which participants were all factored in.
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