Social Life Characteristics in Relation to Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Older Adults: Findings from the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet (HELIAD) Study

Overview

Journal Public Health Nutr

Publisher Cambridge University Press

Date 2019 Aug 24

PMID 31439074

Citations 9

Authors

Eirini Mamalaki

Costas A Anastasiou

Mary H Kosmidis

Efthimios Dardiotis

Georgios M Hadjigeorgiou

Paraskevi Sakka

Nikolaos Scarmeas

Mary Yannakoulia

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to explore the associations between social life and adherence to a healthy dietary pattern, the Mediterranean diet (MD), in a population-representative cohort of older people.

Design: Cross-sectional study. Adherence to the MD was evaluated by an a priori score; tertiles of the score, indicating low, medium and high adherence, were used in the analyses. Social life was assessed by a questionnaire evaluating participation in leisure-time activities and the number of social contacts; primary occupation was also recorded and job characteristics were further explored.

Setting: Community-dwelling older adults.

Participants: Adults from the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet (HELIAD) study (n 1933; age range 65-99 years).

Results: Each unit increase in the number of social contacts/month and in the frequency score of intellectual, social and physical activities was associated with a 1·6, 6·8, 4·8 and 13·7 % increase in the likelihood of a participant being in the high MD adherence group, respectively. The analysis by age group revealed that younger elderly participants had a 1·4, 8·4 and 11·3 % higher likelihood to be in the high adherence group for each unit increase in the number of social contacts/month and in the frequency score of engagement in intellectual and physical activities, respectively. Similar associations were found for older elderly participants with high compared with low MD adherence, except for the intellectual activities.

Conclusions: The present results suggest that high MD adherence is associated with good social life, suggesting a clustering of health-promoting lifestyle factors in older adults.

Citing Articles

Socio-Demographic Determinants of Mediterranean Diet Adherence: Results of the EU-National Health Interview Survey (EHIS-3).

Kontele I, Panagiotakos D, Yannakoulia M, Vassilakou T J Hum Nutr Diet. 2025; 38(1):e70023.

PMID: 39934642 PMC: 11814368. DOI: 10.1111/jhn.70023.

Association of social capital and adherence to a Mediterranean diet in adults living in Tehran: a cross-sectional study.

Norouziasl R, Shab-Bidar S BMC Public Health. 2024; 24(1):2302.

PMID: 39182058 PMC: 11344306. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19830-x.

High Adherence to the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern Is Inversely Associated with Systemic Inflammation in Older but Not in Younger Brazilian Adults.

Bastos A, Felix P, Neto J, Rogero M, Fisberg R, Yannakoulia M Nutrients. 2024; 16(9).

PMID: 38732631 PMC: 11085370. DOI: 10.3390/nu16091385.

Dietary Patterns and Alzheimer's Disease: An Updated Review Linking Nutrition to Neuroscience.

Ellouze I, Sheffler J, Nagpal R, Arjmandi B Nutrients. 2023; 15(14).

PMID: 37513622 PMC: 10384681. DOI: 10.3390/nu15143204.

Assessing the Interlinkage between Biodiversity and Diet through the Mediterranean Diet Case.

Mattas K, Raptou E, Alayidi A, Yener G, Baourakis G Adv Nutr. 2023; 14(3):570-582.

PMID: 36997093 PMC: 10201830. DOI: 10.1016/j.advnut.2023.03.011.

References

Dijkstra S, Neter J, Brouwer I, Huisman M, Visser M . Adherence to dietary guidelines for fruit, vegetables and fish among older Dutch adults; the role of education, income and job prestige. J Nutr Health Aging. 2014; 18(2):115-21. DOI: 10.1007/s12603-013-0402-3. View

Ihle A, Grotz C, Adam S, Oris M, Fagot D, Gabriel R . The association of timing of retirement with cognitive performance in old age: the role of leisure activities after retirement. Int Psychogeriatr. 2016; 28(10):1659-69. DOI: 10.1017/S1041610216000958. View

Feart C, Samieri C, Alles B, Barberger-Gateau P . Potential benefits of adherence to the Mediterranean diet on cognitive health. Proc Nutr Soc. 2012; 72(1):140-52. DOI: 10.1017/S0029665112002959. View

Atkins J, Ramsay S, Whincup P, Morris R, Lennon L, Wannamethee S . Diet quality in older age: the influence of childhood and adult socio-economic circumstances. Br J Nutr. 2015; 113(9):1441-52. PMC: 4462157. DOI: 10.1017/S0007114515000604. View

Zezelj S, Kendel Jovanovic G, Dragas Zubalj N, Micovic V, Sesar Z . Associations between Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Lifestyle Assessed with the MEDLIFE Index among the Working Population. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018; 15(10). PMC: 6210311. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15102126. View

Pilgrim A, Robinson S, Sayer A, Roberts H . An overview of appetite decline in older people. Nurs Older People. 2015; 27(5):29-35. PMC: 4589891. DOI: 10.7748/nop.27.5.29.e697. View

Quinn M, Johnson M, Poon L, MARTIN P, Nickols-Richardson S . Factors of nutritional health-seeking behaviors. Findings from the Georgia Centenarian Study. J Aging Health. 1997; 9(1):90-104. DOI: 10.1177/089826439700900105. View

Host A, McMahon A, Walton K, Charlton K . Factors Influencing Food Choice for Independently Living Older People-A Systematic Literature Review. J Nutr Gerontol Geriatr. 2016; 35(2):67-94. DOI: 10.1080/21551197.2016.1168760. View

Sahyoun N, Zhang X, Serdula M . Barriers to the consumption of fruits and vegetables among older adults. J Nutr Elder. 2006; 24(4):5-21. DOI: 10.1300/j052v24n04_03. View

10.

Wong A, Lau A, Lo E, Tang M, Wang Z, Liu W . Relations between Recent Past Leisure Activities with Risks of Dementia and Cognitive Functions after Stroke. PLoS One. 2016; 11(7):e0159952. PMC: 4959678. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159952. View

11.

Tapsell L, Neale E, Satija A, Hu F . Foods, Nutrients, and Dietary Patterns: Interconnections and Implications for Dietary Guidelines. Adv Nutr. 2016; 7(3):445-54. PMC: 4863273. DOI: 10.3945/an.115.011718. View

12.

Dardiotis E, Kosmidis M, Yannakoulia M, Hadjigeorgiou G, Scarmeas N . The Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet (HELIAD): rationale, study design, and cohort description. Neuroepidemiology. 2014; 43(1):9-14. DOI: 10.1159/000362723. View

13.

Lopez-Garcia E, Rodriguez-Artalejo F, Li T, Fung T, Li S, Willett W . The Mediterranean-style dietary pattern and mortality among men and women with cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013; 99(1):172-80. PMC: 3862454. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.113.068106. View

14.

Buchman A, Boyle P, Wilson R, Fleischman D, Leurgans S, Bennett D . Association between late-life social activity and motor decline in older adults. Arch Intern Med. 2009; 169(12):1139-46. PMC: 2775502. DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.135. View

15.

Yannakoulia M, Mamalaki E, Anastasiou C, Mourtzi N, Lambrinoudaki I, Scarmeas N . Eating habits and behaviors of older people: Where are we now and where should we go?. Maturitas. 2018; 114:14-21. DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2018.05.001. View

16.

Kapelios C, Kyriazis I, Ioannidis I, Dimosthenopoulos C, Hatziagelaki E, Liatis S . Diet, life-style and cardiovascular morbidity in the rural, free living population of Elafonisos island. BMC Public Health. 2017; 17(1):147. PMC: 5286858. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-017-4053-x. View

17.

Menotti A, Keys A, ARAVANIS C, Blackburn H, Dontas A, Fidanza F . Seven Countries Study. First 20-year mortality data in 12 cohorts of six countries. Ann Med. 1989; 21(3):175-9. DOI: 10.3109/07853898909149929. View

18.

Dean M, Raats M, Grunert K, Lumbers M . Factors influencing eating a varied diet in old age. Public Health Nutr. 2009; 12(12):2421-7. DOI: 10.1017/S1368980009005448. View

19.

Greenwood N, Smith R . The oldest carers: A narrative review and synthesis of the experiences of carers aged over 75 years. Maturitas. 2016; 94:161-172. DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2016.10.001. View

20.

Drewnowski A, Shultz J . Impact of aging on eating behaviors, food choices, nutrition, and health status. J Nutr Health Aging. 2001; 5(2):75-9. View