Mediterranean Diet and Change in Physical Function Over Time In Older Women

The Mediterranean diet has been linked to preserving physical function, but studies on its impact on physical function decline in older adults have shown mixed results. This longitudinal study used a large sample of community-dwelling older women from the Women's Health Initiative Long Life Study to examine this relationship. We assessed 4516 older women (mean age at baseline = 78.97), including a subsample of 849 women who reported currently having diabetes. Data on physical function, measured by the SF-36 Physical Function subscale, were collected annually from 2012-2019. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was measured using alternative Mediterranean diet (aMED) scores between 2012 and 2013. Results indicated that higher aMED scores were associated with better physical function at baseline in the general sample (4.89 to 8.23 points) and in the diabetes subsample (5.37 to 8.97 points) over eight years. However, adherence to the Mediterranean diet did not affect the rate of physical function decline. Future research should include longitudinal dietary assessments, a broader age range, and detailed information on diabetes duration.