Influence of Sociodemographic, Health-Related, and Behavioral Factors on Food Guidelines Compliance in Older Adults: A Hierarchical Approach from the Chilean National Health Survey 2016–17 Data

Abstract

Dietary habits are determinants in the development of a range of conditions and age-related diseases. We explored the associations of sociodemographic, health-related indicators, and health behavioral factors on dietary guideline compliance in elderly Chileans. We used a cross-sectional design using the publicly available database from the last Chilean National Health Survey (2016–17). The sample of 1831 older adults (≥60 y) from a national representative sample. The dependent variable was compliance with Food Guidelines (FG) (daily consumption of water, dairy, and fruits and vegetables; and weekly consumption of legumes and fish). The independent variables included sociodemographic, health-related, and behavioral factors. Over half (51.8%) of the sample was female and 85.7% belonged to the 60–79 age group. Satisfactory compliance to FG was observed in 3.9% of the sample. In the adjusted analysis, for those between 60 and 79 y, marital status was the only significant variable associated with FG noncompliance (PR: 1.34; 95%CI: 1.04–1.71). For those over 80 y, income of >2 minimum wages (PR: 0.10; 95%CI: 0.02–0.61), living alone (PR: 1.72; 95%CI: 1.20–2.47), and self-reported cardiovascular disease (PR: 0.63; 95%CI: 0.43–0.93) were associated with FG noncompliance. We observed low FG compliance among elderly Chilean adults, especially in the oldest group. Factors associated with the FG compliance was different between age groups.

Quality of Life in Community-Dwelling Older People with Functional and Nutritional Impairment and Depressive Symptoms: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study in Brazil and Portugal

“…These data present an important and unprecedented situational diagnosis of the two countries, which have different cultures and levels of PHC structure. Understanding the reality of different scenarios raises the need for the construction of new public health policies for the older population with a preventive focus on the functional, nutritional and depressive symptoms components [ 6 , 24 , 25 ].…”

“…The level of education and income stood out in this perspective. Even though education was not a criterion for pairing the groups, whether inequities in education and income could influence our results is important to question, since socioeconomic factors have been shown to mediate QoL outcomes, functionality, nutrition and depressive symptoms [ 6 , 24 , 25 , 28 , 29 ].…”

Determinants of socioeconomic factors for quality of life and depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older people: A cross-sectional study in Brazil and Portugal

“…There are also data in the literature on the influence of income and physical health on depression and QoL [ 32 ]. From another point of view, De Albuquerque Araujo (2022) [ 33 ] notes that income can determine the pattern and quality of food consumption and nutritional status, which, in turn, directly affects the physical conditioning of the individual [ 34 ]. In older individuals, physical fitness is crucial for active and successful aging, as well as for the reduction of depressive symptoms [ 35 ].…”

Combined association of physical activity and sitting time with cardiometabolic risk factors in Chilean adults

“…The Latin American region has undergone an accelerated process of epidemiological and nutritional transition, with an increasing prevalence of noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and respiratory diseases in all age groups from 2005 to 2015 1 – 3 . Chile’s demographic and epidemiological transitions are among the most advanced in Latin America 4 , and the noncommunicable diseases are considered a major concern as they contribute to 58% of premature deaths in the country 5 – 7 .…”