Frailty in middle-aged and older adults likely associated with inflammatory diet: a study shows

Summary: In recent years, researchers have discovered that many non-infectious chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, dementia are caused by low-grade inflammation. This low-grade inflammation does not produce many symptoms, and thus it is called silent inflammation. However, prolonged chronic inflammation causes considerable health damage, including greater frailty in middle-aged and older adults. A new study found that this low-grade inflammation is often associated with higher consumptions of inflammatory diet that included fast-absorbing carbs and saturated fats. Furthermore, they found that the prevalence of fragility was twice higher in adults who consumed an inflammatory diet compared to those who consumed an anti-inflammatory diet rich in dietary fiber and green vegetables. Since frailty is associated with an increased risk of falls and mortality, researchers say these findings underline the importance of a low-inflammatory diet. 

 Inflammation causes symptoms like pain, heat, and swelling of the affected organ or tissue. It is a defensive mechanism of the body helping protect the body from infections and plays an essential role in tissue regeneration.

However, a different kind of inflammation has received much attention in recent years, which is low-level systemic inflammation. It is also called silent inflammation, as it may not produce any acute signs or symptoms. However, in the long run, it may cause severe damage to health1.

Thus, as per the new understanding, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative conditions, diabetes, and even some cancers are regarded as a result of prolonged low-level inflammation1. 

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These low levels of inflammation do have some symptoms, though they are often vague and difficult to interpret, like chronic fatigue, body aches, sleep disturbances, mood disorders.

Studies suggest that this low-level inflammation results from wrong lifestyle choices like wrong dietary choices and lack of exercise. In addition, researchers noticed that although the theme of an inflammatory and anti-inflammatory diet is commonly discussed, there is a poor understanding of anti-inflammatory diet1.

Nevertheless, most agree that refined carbs like white bread, fried foods, soda, red meat, margarine could all be considered inflammation-causing foods. On the contrary, vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries, lean meat could be regarded as an example of an anti-inflammatory diet2.

It seems that list of ill effects of an inflammatory diet is ever increasing. Now, a new study shows that it could also considerably increase the risk of frailty in middle-aged and older adults. The study results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition3.

Frailty is a significant health issue among older adults and is estimated to affect about 10-15% of adults. Although it may not be life-threatening in most, it considerably increases the risk of falls, hospitalization, disability, and mortality. 

The study analyzed 12-year dietary data of the 1701 participants of the Framingham Heart Study. They found that over a 12-year period, an inflammatory diet considerably increased the risk of frailty. For example, the quarter of participants who consumed an inflammatory diet were at twice the greater risk of developing frailty when compared to another quarter consuming a low-inflammation diet.

Thus, researchers noticed that consuming fast-absorbing or simple carbs and saturated fats posed a considerable risk. On the other hand, a diet rich in dietary fiber and antioxidants (vitamins, flavonoids) had a protective role.

These are early findings. Nevertheless, it shows the importance of an anti-inflammatory diet. Researchers think there is clearly a need to design a clinical trial regarding the long-term benefits of an anti-inflammatory diet.

Here it is vital to understand that the present study only focused on frailty. However, there is a need to analyze further the prevalence of various other chronic ailments in the two groups. 

To conclude, it appears that a modern high-calorie diet rich in ultra-processed foods, fast-absorbing carbs, saturated fats is a considerable risk factor for frailty and chronic health disorders. An inflammatory diet may not produce immediately identifiable signs and symptoms, but it causes significant and detectable harm in the long run. 

Thus, an anti-inflammatory diet could be regarded as a long-term strategy for reducing the risk of chronic ailments and frailty.

References

1.   Marcason W. What Is the Anti-Inflammatory Diet? Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2010;110(11):1780. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2010.09.024
2.   Foods that fight inflammation. Harvard Health. Published June 12, 2014. Accessed January 25, 2022. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation
3.   Millar CL, Dufour AB, Shivappa N, et al. A pro-inflammatory diet is associated with increased odds of frailty after 12-year follow-up in a cohort of adults. Am J Clin Nutr. Published online September 24, 2021:nqab317. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqab317