Plant-based index linked to fall risk in older Chinese adults: cross-sectional evidence from a national cohort

• Published in: Aging clinical and experimental research 2024-09, Vol.36 (1), p.183, Article 183
• Main Authors: Yang, Fuli, Jin, Junguo, Liu, Jieliang, Lu, Xiaoqi, Jiang, Huyi, Tan, Huixin, Zhou, Fenghua, Zeng, Ping
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accidental Falls - prevention & control; Accidental Falls - statistics & numerical data; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; China - epidemiology; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Diet, Vegetarian; East Asian People; Falls; Female; Geriatrics/Gerontology; Humans; Investigations; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Plant-based foods; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Risk Factors
• ISSN: 1720-8319; 1594-0667; 1720-8319
• DOI: 10.1007/s40520-024-02838-z

Objectives Epidemiology showed that the falling incidences increased with advanced age, and recent findings found link between nutritional intake and risk of falls. Nevertheless, the relationship between different plant-based diets and the risk of falls in older adults remains unclear. Our investigation aimed to evaluate the correlation between various plant-based diet indices and the occurrence of falls. Design This study is a cross-sectional and post-hoc analysis from a national cohort study. Setting and participants We included individuals over 65 years from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) recruited in 2018 with information on falls and dietary assessments, finally 11,044 participants were eligible. Measurements Using food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), we calculated plant-based index scores categorized as unhealthy plant-based index (uPDI) and healthy plant-based index (hPDI). The primary outcome was falls obtained from questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed utilizing logistic regression model to investigate the relationship between the plant-based diet indices and falls. We also used the subgroup analysis to investigate the interaction of falls and plant-based diet index (PDI) among different status and used the restricted cubic spline (RCS) curves to investigate the connection between the PDI scores and falls risk. Results Among 11,044 participants included in our study, a total of 2493 fall cases were observed. The logistic regression analysis revealed that the plant-based index related to falls. In the adjusted model, per 10-unit increment of hPDI has a significant decreased risk of falls (odd ratio [OR]: 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79–0.91, P for trend