Longitudinal nutritional changes in aging Australian women

Background and Objectives: The importance of diet for the maintenance of health during aging is attracting a growing body of research interest. Given dietary intakes, along with BMI, are substantial contributors to disease burden, this study aimed to investigate prospective changes in dietary patterns and nutrient intakes in a sample of mid to late-life women over 14 years.

Methods and Study Design: Participants were from the Women's Healthy Ageing Project (WHAP); a longitudinal cohort of Australian-born women within the Melbourne metropolitan area. 173 participants were included in this analysis, their mean age in 1998 was 55 years (range 51-62) and in 2012 was 70 years (range 66-76). Diet was assessed using the Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies Version 2 in 1998 and 2012. Nutritional intakes, Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) scores, Mediterranean Diet (MD) scores, sociodemographic and physical measures were calculated for all participants at both time points.

Results: Energy intake was found to significantly decrease over time (p<0.005). Energy-adjusted (i.e., energy density) total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and cholesterol intakes increased over time (all p<0.002), while energy-adjusted and absolute carbohydrate intake decreased (p<0.002). Adherence to the MD decreased over time (p<0.001) whilst DII scores increased slightly over time, although this result was not significant.

Conclusions: This study shows significant changes in the intake of energy and several nutrients in a cohort of aging Australian women in the Melbourne metropolitan area over a period of 14 years. Between 1998 and 2012, changes in indices reflecting overall diet were consistently in the direction of a poorer diet.