Association between Both Total Baseline Urinary and Dietary Polyphenols and Substantial Physical Performance Decline Risk in Older Adults: A 9-year Follow-up of the InCHIANTI Study.
The decline in physical performance that occurs in many older subjects is a strong predictor of falls, hospitalization, institutionalization and mortality. Polyphenols are bioactive compounds that may play a preventive role against physical performance decline due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.



To investigate the association between total urinary polyphenols (TUP) and total dietary polyphenols (TDP) and substantial physical performance decline over a nine-year period among older subjects.



This longitudinal study included 368 participants aged 65 years or older from the InCHIANTI (Invecchiare in Chianti) study, an Italian population-based cohort. TUP and TDP concentrations were assessed at baseline using the Folin-Ciocalteau (F-C) assay and a validated food frequency questionnaire, respectively. Physical performance was objectively measured at baseline and at nine-year follow-up using the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). A substantial decline in physical performance was considered as a decrease of three or more points in the SPPB score.



At the nine-year follow-up assessment, 71 participants had suffered a substantial decline in physical performance. In the fully adjusted logistic regression model, participants in the highest TUP tertile had a lower risk of substantial decline in physical performance than those in the lowest tertile (OR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.17-0.93; P trend=0.033). However, no significant association between TDP intake and physical performance decline was observed.



This study shows that high TUP concentrations, a biomarker of polyphenol-rich exposure, were associated with lower risk of substantial decline in physical performance in community-dwelling older subjects over a nine-year period. These results suggest that a polyphenol-rich diet may play a role in protecting against physical performance decline in older people.
C. Andres-Lacueva, Biomarkers and Nutrimetabolomic Laboratory, Nutrition and Food Science Department, Campus Torribera, Pharmacy and Food Sciences Faculty, University of Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain. E-mail: candres@ub.edu.
M
M
Rabassa
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R
Zamora-Ros
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C
Andres-Lacueva
M
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Urpi-Sarda
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S
Bandinelli
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L
Ferrucci
A
A
Cherubini
D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000652:urine*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors
D059808:Polyphenols