Dietary patterns and intrinsic capacity in older adults: a 6-year prospective cohort study

Objectives: Only a few studies have investigated dietary patterns and intrinsic capacity (IC). This study examined the prospective associations between dietary patterns, IC, and IC sub-domains over 6 years in community-dwelling Korean older adults. Design: A prospective cohort study. Setting and participants: Data were obtained from participants aged 70–84 years in the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (2016–2022). The study population included 665 enrollees at baseline who completed IC and dietary data. Methods: Dietary data were obtained from baseline surveys of the nutritional sub-cohort using two nonconsecutive 24‐hour dietary recalls, and dietary patterns were derived using cluster analysis. IC was constructed by measuring cognitive, locomotor, vitality, sensory, and psychological domains. A generalized estimating equation was used to analyze the longitudinal associations between dietary patterns, IC, and IC sub-domain scores. Results: In total, 665 enrollees were included in the analysis. After adjusting for confounders, in older men, the dietary pattern of cluster 1 (variety of healthy foods and alcohols) compared to that of cluster 2 (rice and kimchi) was positively associated with changes in the IC score (ß = 0.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.04−0.78). In older women, the dietary pattern of cluster 1 (variety of healthy foods) was positively associated with changes in the IC score (ß = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.02–0.58), IC score group (ß = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.02–0.20), and psychological domain (ß = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.11–0.38) compared to that of cluster 3 (rice, vegetables, and kimchi). Conclusions: Dietary patterns (variety of healthy foods) were positively associated with changes in IC scores and their sub-domains in older adults.