title: Dietary Quality Is Associated with Abdominal Aortic Calcification: A Mean of 18-Year Longitudinal Study in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.
abstract: This study aimed to examine the association between baseline and changes in dietary quality assessed by the Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010) and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) among community-dwelling older adults.
  
  
  
  Population-based longitudinal study.
  
  
  
  A subset of the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (MCCS).
  
  
  
  262 community-dwelling adults (60% female) aged 53 ± 5 years at baseline.
  
  
  
  Dietary intake was assessed using validated Food Frequency Questionnaires at baseline (1990-1994) and follow-up (2010-2011). AAC was evaluated by radiography and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at follow-up.
  
  
  
  Higher baseline AHEI-2010 score was associated with lower AAC severity by radiography [OR (95% CI) for Tertile 3 VS Tertile 1: 0.53 (0.29-0.99)] after adjustment for gender, age, physical activity, smoking, BMI, systolic blood pressure, plasma total cholesterol, calcium and energy intake. The association between AHEI-2010 and AAC severity by DXA was also significant in the multivariate-adjusted model [OR (95% CI) for Tertile 3 VS Tertile 1: 0.38 (0.20-0.70)]. Changes in AHEI-2010 over 18 years were not associated with AAC severity.
  
  
  
  Baseline but not the changes in AHEI-2010 was inversely associated with the risk of AAC severity suggesting that a high quality diet might help prevent or delay the progression of AAC in community-dwelling older adults and the benefits might be manifested over the long-term.
authors.affiliation: Xianwen Shang, Melbourne Medical School-Western Campus, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Level 3, 176 Furlong Road, St Albans, Vic 3021, Australia. Tel: 61 (0)3 8395 8093, Fax: 61 (0)3 8395 8258, E-mail: xshang@student.unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hodge
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: English
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Giles
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Ebeling
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Sanders
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000473:pathology*; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet; D018450:Disease Progression; D002149:Energy Intake; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol; D002118:Calcium