Risk factors for dietary variety decline among Japanese elderly in a rural community: a 8-year follow-up study from TMIG-LISA.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the factors related to the decline of dietary variety among the rural community-dwelling Japanese elderly people and the implication on the planning of elderly people's nutritional improvement program in the future.


METHODS
A prospective cohort study during 8-year follow-up from 1992 to 2000.


METHODS
This study was conducted in Nangai Village, a rural and mainly agricultural area of Akita Prefecture in the northern part of Honshu, one of four main islands in Japan.


METHODS
A total of 417 elderly people (160 men, 257 women) who completed interviews and food intake frequency surveys conducted in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000 were studied.


METHODS
Dietary variety and variables potentially associated with dietary variety decline were identified from a face-to-face interview at the baseline and 8-year follow-up surveys. The dietary variety was measured using the dietary variety score (DVS), which covers the 10 main food groups in Japanese meals.


RESULTS
During the 8-year follow-up, 36.2% of the subjects showed a decline in dietary variety. Health characteristics also change among the 8-year follow-up and these changes have an effect on the decline of dietary variety. Significant predictors for decline in dietary variety included loss of spouse, deterioration in self-perceived chewing ability, and decrease in intellectual activity score.


CONCLUSIONS
Loss of spouse, deterioration in chewing ability, and decline in intellectual activity may increase the risk of decline in dietary variety in community-dwelling Japanese elderly people.
Kwon
J
J
Epidemiology and Health Promotion, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan. kwonjh@tmig.or.jp
Suzuki
T
T
Kumagai
S
S
Shinkai
S
S
Yukawa
H
H
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000639:trends; D018454:Spouses