Older adults with medium dietary microbe intake had a lower prevalence of frailty (OR = 0.825) compared to those with low intake.
High dietary microbe intake was associated with an even lower prevalence of frailty (OR = 0.779) compared to the lowest intake group.
A significant non-linear relationship exists between dietary live microbe intake and frailty prevalence, with beneficial effects observed below an inflection point of 161.82.
Participants were categorized into low (33.5%), medium (47.0%), and high (19.5%) dietary microbe intake groups.
Simplified
BACKGROUND: Diet plays a crucial part in maintaining a healthy body, and microbes, as an essential dietary component, have attracted more attention in recent years. In this study, we will explore the link between dietary intake of live microbes and frailty in the elderly.
METHODS: Older participants from the 1999-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) who were not less than 60 years of age were enrolled in this research. Participants' dietary microbe intake was assessed by a self-report questionnaire. Participants were stratified into low, medium, and high intake groups according to their consumption of foods with varying microbial content. The was assessed by 49 frailty indicators. Frailty was defined as a frailty index > 0.21. Logistic regression was used to analyze the link between dietary intake of live microbes and frailty in older adults.
RESULTS: A total of 15,179 older adults' basic information was collected for this study. The frailty index was higher than 0.21 in 32.8% of participants. Older adults with low, medium, and high dietary microbe intake accounted for 33.5%, 47.0%, and 19.5%, respectively. In models adjusted for confounders, the prevalence of frailty was lower in participants with the medium (OR = 0.825, 95%CI: 0.749-0.908) and high (OR = 0.779, 95%CI: 0.679-0.894) dietary microbe intake groups, compared with in participants with the lowest intake group. The RCS analysis revealed a significant non-linear association between dietary live microbe intake and frailty prevalence, with the strongest reduction observed below an inflection point of 161.82 (P for non-linearity < 0.05). In addition, stratified analyses did not reveal interactions between the study variables.
CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates a negative and non-linear association between dietary live microbe intake and frailty in older adults. These findings provide evidence of a potential link between live microbe intake and frailty, warranting further longitudinal and interventional studies to explore this relationship and its implications for healthy aging.
Key numbers
32.8%
Prevalence of frailty
Percentage of participants with a > 0.21.
0.825
Odds Ratio for frailty (medium intake)
Odds ratio adjusted for confounders compared to low intake group.
0.779
Odds Ratio for frailty (high intake)
Odds ratio adjusted for confounders compared to low intake group.
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Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Disclosure: The authors have no competing interests to declare. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All participants provided written informed consent and study procedures were approved by the National Center for Health Statistics Research Ethics Review Board (Protocol Number: Protocol #98 − 12, Protocol #2005-06, and Protocol #2011-17). Consent for publication: Not applicable.
