Abstract
Aim: This article examined the association between dietary patterns and cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese older adults. Methods: For this study, older adults with one or more cardiovascular risk factors or a history of cardiovascular disease were randomly selected using health check medical records from the Changshu and Beijing Fangshan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis was used to extract dietary pattern factors. Log binomial regression analysis was used to analyse the association between dietary patterns and chronic disease related risk factors. Results: Four factors were found through factor analysis. A high level of internal consistency was obtained, with a high Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.83. Cluster analysis identified three dietary patterns: healthy diet, Western diet, and balanced diet. Findings in this sample of Chinese adults correspond to those reported in previous studies, indicating that a Western diet is significantly related to likelihood of having obesity, hypertension and the metabolic syndrome. The identification of distinct dietary patterns among Chinese older adults and the nutritional status of people with chronic diseases suggest that the three dietary patterns have a reasonable level of discriminant validity. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that a FFQ is a valid and reliable tool to assess the dietary patterns of individuals with chronic diseases in small- to medium-size urban and rural settings in China. It also validates the significant association between dietary pattern and cardiovascular disease risk factors, including body mass index, blood pressure, triglycerides, and metabolic conditions. Clinical diagnosis of chronic disease further confirmed this relationship in Chinese older adults.
Highlights
Examining the relationship between dietary patterns in Chinese older adults with chronic disease is of particular importance given the increasing population and prevalence of age-related chronic disease.Chinese adults over 50 years of age have a higher prevalence of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke and bodily pain than do people in younger age groups [1,2].Insufficient or unhealthy nutritional intake may cause this group to have an increased risk of morbidity and mortality [3].The Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) is commonly used to assess dietary patterns associated with clusters of frequently consumed food items [4,5,6]
This study aimed to identify dietary patterns and their relationship with chronic disease related risk factors in Chinese older adults
It was found that most Chinese adults predominantly choose healthy and Western dietary patterns, while adults with a balanced dietary pattern choose foods across four food factors but select lesser amounts of specific foods than those with healthy or Western dietary patterns
Summary
Examining the relationship between dietary patterns in Chinese older adults with chronic disease is of particular importance given the increasing population and prevalence of age-related chronic disease.Chinese adults over 50 years of age have a higher prevalence of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke and bodily pain than do people in younger age groups [1,2].Insufficient or unhealthy nutritional intake may cause this group to have an increased risk of morbidity and mortality [3].The Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) is commonly used to assess dietary patterns associated with clusters of frequently consumed food items [4,5,6]. Examining the relationship between dietary patterns in Chinese older adults with chronic disease is of particular importance given the increasing population and prevalence of age-related chronic disease. Chinese adults over 50 years of age have a higher prevalence of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke and bodily pain than do people in younger age groups [1,2]. The vegetable-based or healthy food pattern comprises foods rich in milk, fruits, vegetables, grains, poultry, fish and nuts [8,9]. The Western pattern comprises foods rich in red meats and fats, and the sweet- and fat-dominated food patterns include sweets and added fat through consumption of sugary drinks, fast and processed food [8,9]
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