Association between plant-based diets and disability in daily activities in older Chinese individuals

To investigate the independent and comprehensive association between plant-based diets and activities of daily living (ADL) in older Chinese individuals, we conducted a longitudinal study to evaluate the relationship between the plant-based diet index (PDI) and ADL in this population.

This study included 18,670 participants (women [proportion]: 9899 [53.0%]) who were able to independently conduct ADL at baseline in the 1998-2018 China Longitudinal Survey of Health and Longevity (CLHLS). The Cox proportional hazard model was used to test the association between a plant-based diet and activities of daily living-related disabilities.

At baseline, the median age of all participants was 83 years old. Taking Q1 as the reference value, the hazard ratios (HR) for quartiles Q2, Q3, and Q4 were 1.080 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.018-1.147], 1.086 (95% CI 1.007-1.181), and 1.110 (95% CI 1.038-1.187), respectively. This indicated that a higher PDI might have had adverse effects on ADL. Adjustments have been made to the potential inclusion population and data processing strategies, as well as to the frequency of intake based on nutritional factors. Subsequently, it was found that the obtained results were consistent with the preliminary analysis.

This study found that a higher plant-based diet was associated with an increased risk of disability in daily activities, while the intake of meat and fish was associated with a decreased risk. These findings highlight the importance of dietary balance in plant-based diets.