Inverse association between dietary habits with high total antioxidant capacity and prevalence of frailty among elderly Japanese women: a multicenter cross-sectional study.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association of dietary habits with high total antioxidant capacity (TAC) with frailty among elderly Japanese women.


METHODS
Cross-sectional multicenter study.


METHODS
Thirty-five of 47 prefectures in Japan.


METHODS
2121 grandmothers or acquaintances of dietetic students aged 65 and older.


METHODS
Dietary TAC and food intakes were calculated using a validated brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire. The TAC value of each food was assigned using four different assays, ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP). Frailty was defined as the presence three or more of the following four components: slowness and weakness (two points), exhaustion, low physical activity, and unintentional weight loss.


RESULTS
The number of subjects with frailty was 486 (23%). Multivariate adjusted ORs (95% CI) for frailty in the highest compared to the lowest quintile were 0.35 (0.24, 0.53) for FRAP, 0.35 (0.23, 0.52) for ORAC, 0.40 (0.27, 0.60) for TEAC, and 0.41 (0.28, 0.62) for TRAP. The intakes of green tea, coffee, vegetables, and fruits which contribute to dietary TAC were also associated with lower odds of frailty (the range of multivariate adjusted OR: 0.47 for vegetables to 0.77 for green tea), although the odds ratios were less marked than those of dietary TAC.


CONCLUSIONS
Dietary habits with high TAC showed a stronger inverse association with frailty in elderly Japanese women than the individual foods examined.
S. Sasaki, Department of Social and Preventive Epidemiology, School of Public Health, the University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; E-mail: stssasak@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Tel: +81-3-5841-7872; Fax: +81-3-5841-7873.
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D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003069:Coffee / Q000737:chemistry; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D004046:Dietetics; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005504:Food Analysis; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013662:Tea / Q000737:chemistry; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000187:drug effects
D000975:Antioxidants; D003069:Coffee; D013662:Tea