Diet Quality Is Associated With Health-related Quality of Life in African American and White Adults
Year: 2017
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with mortality and morbidity in older adults. Diet quality has been shown to affect HRQoL measures; however, past research has focused on adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and few studies have examined aging populations. The purpose of this study was to compare HRQoL with the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010, a diet quality measure based on compliance with US federal standards, in a racially and socioeconomically diverse urban sample. This analysis included 1176 of 3720 participants from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study. Participants were 30–64 years old at baseline. Tertiles of baseline HEI-2010 were regressed against follow-up HRQoL (physical and mental component scores (0–100) of the Short Form 12 (SF-12)) with BMI, race (African American vs White), follow-up time (years), and socioeconomic status (SES) (< or >125% of 2004 US poverty guidelines) as covariates. The mean (±SE) HEI-2010 score was 43.1 ± 11.7 (out of 100), and mean mental and physical HRQoL (±SE) scores were 49.7 ± 11.7 and 40.6 ± 6.4, respectively. Lower HEI scores (p=0.002, β=1.294), lower SES (p<0.001, β= -4.646), longer follow up time (p=0.047, β=0.720), and African American race (p<0.001, β=2.899) were associated with poorer mental health. Lower HEI scores (p=0.002, β=0.693) and higher BMI (p<0.001, β= -0.164) were associated with poorer physical health. Findings corroborate past research on the Mediterranean diet, suggesting there are several eating patterns that may improve HRQoL.
Source: Innovation in Aging
Institutions: University of Delaware, National Institute on Aging
Language: English
Topic: Nutritional Studies and Diet
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,977
OpenAlex ID: W2727555522