Dietary quality analysis of sarcopenia elderly in a rural area of Chengdu City

Abstract

Objective To survey the prevalence of sarcopenia in the elderly and investigate their diet quality in a rural area of Chengdu in order to provide scientific basis for nutrition management for the elderly population with sarcopenia. Methods Elderly people aged 60 and above living in a rural area of Chengdu City were sampled and then divided into sarcopenia group (n=450) and non-sarcopenia group (n=1 412) according to the 2019 Asian Sarcopenia Working Group Consensus (AWGS) diagnostic criteria. Dietary quality was evaluated based on the Dietary Balance Index (DBI-16). Results For the 1 862 elderly participants, there were 450 suffering from sarcopenia, with a prevalence of 24.17%. The subjects from the non-sarcopenia group had significantly higher intakes of proteins (P < 0.001), carbohydrates (P < 0.001) and energy (P=0.032), and intakes of grains (P=0.006), vegetables (P < 0.001), fruits (P < 0.001) and meat (P=0.001) than those from the sarcopenia group. The diet quality distance (DQD) was obviously higher in the sarcopenia group than the non-sarcopenia group (P=0.049). The total score of DBI-16 was negative in both groups, and the total score of the sarcopenia group was notably lower than that of the non-sarcopenia group (P < 0.001). Conclusion The prevalence of sarcopenia in elderly in this area is quite high, and the dietary imbalance is more serious. Targeted health education should be carried out to improve the dietary quality for the elderly in the region.

Keywords

• aged
• sarcopenia
• prevalence
• dietary quality
• dietary balance index