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60/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 60 out of 100. Prevention and risk

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet is associated with a lower risk for mortality, cognitive decline, and dementia. Whether adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet protects against age-related frailty is unclear. Therefore, our objective was to examine the association between a Mediterranean-style diet with the risk of frailty in community-dwelling older persons. We conducted longitudinal analyses using data from 690 community-living persons (≥65 y) who were randomly selected from a population registry in Tuscany, Italy. Participants of the Invecchiare in Chianti study of aging completed the baseline examination in 1998-2000 and were re-examined at least once over 6 y. Adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet (scored 0-9, modeled categorically as ≤3, 4-5, and ≥6) was computed from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition FFQ previously validated in this cohort. Frailty was defined as having at least 2 of the following criteria: poor muscle strength, feeling of exhaustion, low walking speed, and low physical activity. After a 6-y follow-up, higher adherence (score ≥6) to a Mediterranean-style diet was associated with lower odds of developing frailty [OR = 0.30 (95% CI: 0.14, 0.66)] compared with those with lower adherence (score ≤3). A higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet at baseline was also associated with a lower risk of low physical activity (OR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.96) and low walking speed [OR = 0.48 (95% CI: 0.27, 0.86)] but not with feelings of exhaustion and poor muscle strength. In community-dwelling older adults, higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was inversely associated with the development of frailty.

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APA 7th

Talegawkar, S. A., Bandinelli, S., Bandeen-Roche, K., Chen, P., Milaneschi, Y., Tanaka, T., et al. (2012). A higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet is inversely associated with the development of frailty in community-dwelling elderly men and women. The Journal of nutrition. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.112.165498

Vancouver

Talegawkar SA, Bandinelli S, Bandeen-Roche K, Chen P, Milaneschi Y, Tanaka T, et al. A higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet is inversely associated with the development of frailty in community-dwelling elderly men and women. The Journal of nutrition. 2012. doi:10.3945/jn.112.165498. PMID: 23096005.

BibTeX

@article{talegawkar2012-23096005,
  author  = {Talegawkar, S. A. and Bandinelli, S. and Bandeen-Roche, K. and Chen, P. and Milaneschi, Y. and Tanaka, T. and Semba, R. D. and Guralnik, J. M. and others},
  title   = {{A higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet is inversely associated with the development of frailty in community-dwelling elderly men and women}},
  journal = {The Journal of nutrition},
  year    = {2012},
  doi     = {10.3945/jn.112.165498},
  pmid    = {23096005},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.112.165498}
}

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Key findings

Adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet is associated with a lower risk for mortality, cognitive decline, and dementia.
After a 6-y follow-up, higher adherence (score ≥6) to a Mediterranean-style diet was associated with lower odds of developing frailty [OR = 0.30 (95% CI: 0.14, 0.66)] compared with those with lower adherence (score ≤3).
A higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet at baseline was also associated with a lower risk of low physical activity (OR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.96) and low walking speed [OR = 0.48 (95% CI: 0.27, 0.86)] but not with feelings of exhaustion and poor muscle strength.
In community-dwelling older adults, higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was inversely associated with the development of frailty.

Why it matters

This longitudinal study found that higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was associated with lower odds of developing frailty in community-dwelling older people. It notes that such a diet has been linked to lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia, but this study itself examined frailty, not dementia outcomes.

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Study details

Study designlongitudinal study
Effect sizeOR = 0.30; OR = 0.62; OR = 0.48
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 60/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of nutrition)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Journal of Nutrition: journal h-index 372 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	7 / 12	A longitudinal study following the same people over time
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	0 / 4	Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported	3 / 3	Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar)
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 268 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	16.8 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 10.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 4 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 28 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Luigi Ferrucci: h-index 245 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 3 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23096005)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	60 / 100	—

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