Nutritional issues for older adults: addressing degenerative ageing with long-term studies

Abstract

The ageing process is influenced by a variety of factors, including extrinsic, malleable lifestyle variables. The present paper deals with the epidemiological evidence for the role of dietary patterns and key nutritional concerns in relation to survival and ageing-related disorders that present themselves in later life. Healthful dietary patterns appear to be most relevant in old age. Specific nutritional concerns are related to vitamin D, vitamin B 12 and protein malnutrition. An important challenge to further expand the knowledge base is currently addressed by the NuAge project, acknowledging the complexity of the ageing process and integrating different dimensions of research into human healthy ageing. In the meantime, reversing poor adherence to existing guidelines for a healthy diet remains a first challenge in public health nutritional practices.Nutrition: Aged: Health: Survival Ageing and nutritionMany industrialised countries now have ageing populations. In EU-27, the proportion of Europeans over the age of 65 is projected to increase from 17·4 % (2011) to approximately 30 % by 2060 (1) . Even though most people reach old age in reasonable health, they are facing potential consequences of the ageing process. Ageing occurs through the lifelong accumulation of subtle faults in cells and tissues resulting in progressive loss of function, frailty and disease (2) . Common features such as a mild chronic pro-inflammatory status, or inflammageing (3) , are implicated in several ageing-related pathologies such as osteoporosis, dementia and sarcopenia and may become major disabling conditions (4) . As yet, there is substantial mechanistic evidence that it is possible to impact on the interplay between intrinsic factors and nutrition (5) . Moreover, in the past decades many epidemiological studies have uncovered a significant role of diet quality in the prevention of chronic disease and mortality later in life, whereby nutrition intervention studies have demonstrated benefits for dietary patterns and specific nutrients. The present paper aims to address the epidemiological evidence for the role of dietary patterns and key nutritional concerns in relation to survival and ageing-related disorders that present themselves later in life. In the meantime Nu-Age, an European Commission-funded project, is holistically interrogating the link between diet and ageing in order to define new dietary strategies addressing the specific needs of older adults (6) . Dietary patterns and survivalThe dietary intake of foods and nutrients are related, and, as people do not eat single nutrients or foods, evaluating dietary patterns has attracted considerable interest in nutritional epidemiology. Assessing dietary quality by dietary patterns has the advantage of capturing the high inter-correlation of nutrients within a diet, as well as integrating complex interactive effects of many dietary exposures (7) . This follows from several systematic reviews of prospective studies relating adherence to a healthful diet to survival or increased...

Vitamin B12 deficiency and impaired expression of amnionless during aging

“…In this study, we combined preclinical and clinical investigation of vitamin B12 physiopathology to overcome these limitations and study molecular mechanisms directly in the relevant organs. Overall, our work confirms that aging is an important risk factor for vitamin B12 deficiency in humans . We demonstrate that both aging and frailty associate with higher levels of MMA indicative of a higher prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in the Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study.…”

“…Overall, our work confirms that aging is an important risk factor for vitamin B12 deficiency in humans. 11,40 We demonstrate that both aging and frailty associate with higher levels of MMA indicative of a higher prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in the Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study. A similar association was also recently demonstrated in a different human population with mobility deficits where sarcopenic patients had lower levels of circulating vitamin B12 compared with age-matched elderly controls.…”

“…Poor vitamin B12 status has been correlated to several age‐related chronic conditions . However, limited knowledge exists on vitamin B12 interventions in the elderly despite the fact that vitamin B12 is widely recommended to prevent age‐related conditions.…”

“…Poor vitamin B12 status has been correlated to several age-related chronic conditions. 11,40 However, limited knowledge exists on vitamin B12 interventions in the elderly despite the fact that vitamin B12 is widely recommended to prevent age-related conditions. Placebo controlled randomized clinical trials have shown that vitamin B12 supplementation can restore circulating vitamin B12 levels and direct biomarkers of vitamin B12 deficiency in some but not all elderly.…”

Can Nutritional Adequacy Help Evade Neurodegeneration in Older Age? A Review

“…One of the most significant risk factors of neurodegenerative disease is old age. Research has been conducted about the aging process's complexity and the importance of vitamin D and vitamin B 12 [ 8 - 10 ]. In recent decades, studies have been conducted to determine the role of calorie restriction, chemicals, and intermittent fasting in cognitive function [ 9 , 10 ].…”