Objectives This study examined the association between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and chronic diseases in elderly Koreans. Methods Data from the 2019–2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. Dietary intake and UPF consumption were assessed using the NOVA food classification based on 24-hour recall data from 3,790 participants (aged 65+ years).
Participants were divided into 4 groups based on the quartile of energy intake from UPFs.
Regions were classified as urban or rural. Multivariable logistic regression was employed to estimate the adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) after controlling for potential confounders. Results Among the participants, 71.3% resided in urban and 28.7% in rural areas.
Compared to the urban elderly, rural participants tended to be older, have lower education and income levels, be more likely to live in single-person households, and have a higher smoking rate (P < 0.05). Urban elderly consumed more UPFs daily (146.1 g) compared to rural residents (126.6 g; P < 0.05). “Sugar-sweetened beverages” were the most consumed category in both regions. “Sweetened milk and its products” and “traditional sauces” were prominent in urban areas, while rural elderly consumed more “traditional sauces” and “distilled alcoholic beverages.” Rural areas also had a higher carbohydrate-to-calorie ratio than urban areas. Compared to the lowest quartile of UPF intake, the highest quartile was significantly associated with impaired fasting glucose only in rural areas (AOR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.00–2.19; P for trend = 0.0014). No significant associations were observed for diabetes in either urban or rural areas. Conclusions This study suggests that high intake of UPFs is associated with increased odds of impaired fasting glucose in rural elderly. Further research is needed to elucidate the specific negative health effects of UPFs in different populations, and targeted efforts should promote healthy diets in both urban and rural areas.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
A Study of the Chemosensory Properties of Commercial Processed Foods Using Electronic Sensors Hyeonjin Park, Younglan Ban, Sojeong Yoon, Hyangyeon Jeong, Seong Jun Hong, Hee Sung Moon, Se Young Yu, Hyun-Wook Kim, Kyeong Soo Kim, Eun Ju Jeong, Eui-Cheol Shin Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition.2024; 53(8): 805. CrossRef
Objectives This study examined the Korean elderly’s dietary intake status, subjective health-related perception and chronic disease prevalence among age groups. Associations of dietary quality with subjective health-related perception and chronic diseases were also examined. Methods Based on data from the 7th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a total of 3,231 elderly were selected and categorized into 4 age groups of ‘65 ~ 69’, ‘70 ~ 74’, ‘75 ~ 79’ and ‘over 80’. Nutrient intakes, proportions of those with insufficient nutrient intakes, Korean Healthy Eating Index (KHEI), some subjective health-related perceptions and prevalence of major chronic diseases were compared according to the age groups. Differences in the subjective health-related perceptions and odds ratios of the chronic diseases according to the quartile levels of KHEI within the same age group were analyzed. Results With the increase of age, several nutrient intakes (P < 0.001) and KHEI scores significantly decreased (P < 0.01). In women, activity restriction increased (P < 0.05), and EQ-5D score decreased with age (P < 0.001). Prevalence of hypertension (P < 0.0001), hypercholesterolemia (P < 0.05) and anemia (P < 0.01) significantly increased, while hypertriglyceridemia (P < 0.01) significantly decreased only in men. Obesity prevalence decreased, while underweight prevalence increased (P < 0.05). Subjective health status, EQ-5D score and PHQ-9 score significantly improved as KHEI score increased in certain age groups of women (P< 0.05). Odds ratio of hypercholesterolemia significantly increased with the increase of KHEI score in 65 ~ 69-year-old women. However, hypertension and anemia significantly decreased with the increase of KHEI score in 75 ~ 79-year-old women (P < 0.05). Conclusions The study findings suggest that nutrition management and policy for the Korean elderly need to apply a segmented age standard that can better reflect their dynamic characteristics.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Association between Healthy Eating Index and Mental Health in Middle-Aged Adults Based on Household Size in Korea Ji-Myung Kim, EunJung Lee International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 19(8): 4692. CrossRef
Blood Biochemical Characteristics, Dietary Intake, and Risk Factors Related to Poor HbA1c Control in Elderly Korean Diabetes Patients: Comparison between the 4th(2007-2009) and the 7th(2016-2018) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys Sung-Won Oh, Sook-Bae Kim Korean Journal of Community Nutrition.2022; 27(5): 406. CrossRef
Comparison of the Nutrient Intake and Health Status of Elderly Koreans According to their BMI Status: Focus on the Underweight Elderly Population You-Sin Lee, Yoonna Lee Korean Journal of Community Nutrition.2022; 27(5): 422. CrossRef
The purpose of this study was to plan a 5-day menu using antioxidant-rich foods (vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, phytochemicals) for a congregate meal program for the elderly and to evaluate the satisfaction of menus. The elderly participated in the congregate meal program at Guro Elderly Welfare Facility during October, 2003 (120 persons/day). The elderly liked yungyangbab, cooked rice with sweet potato and pumpkin, soybean paste soup with chinese cabbage, pan-fried cuttlefish patty with chopped soybean sprout, pan-fried beef patty with tofu and ginseng, fresh vegetable salad and most of desserts. The leftovers of menus were negatively correlated with satisfaction of menus. The 5-day menu contained over 1/3 of KDRIs (Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans) except fiber, calcium, vitamin K and vitamin E. In conclusion, menus using antioxidant-rich foods for a congregate meal program for the elderly will improve nutrient intakes and satisfaction of the meal program. It may help to prevent chronic diseases and improve healthy lives of the Korean elderly.
This purpose of this study was to investigate the nutrient intake, the health status as determined self-assessment checklist, biochemical indicators of elderly Korean women. We interviewed and 55 female subjects living alone in the Urban aged over 65 years. Information on their dietary intake was collected by 24-hour Recall method. Their health status was determined by a NSI checklist. Biochemical indicators were performed in whole blood and plasma of subjects. Except for protein, Fe, all of the elderly subjects belonged to over moderate nutritional risk. The average daily nutrient intake of the elderly was below the level of the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for Koreans. A relationship between their health risk score and nutrient intake was observed negatively (not significantly). They had a risk of anemia as hemoglobin and hematocrit of subjects were under the normal value. Therefore, the reason that health risk score and health status badly was thought for lower nutrient intake.
The aim of this study was to assess the nutrient intakes of the elderly subjects in Korea. Dietary assessment was carried out using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (SQFFQ) developed by our laboratory, which included 98 commonly consumed food items selected from 1998 National Health and Nutritional Survey for Korean population. Subjects (n = 2,660) aged 50yr and over were recruited in Seoul, 6 metropolitan cities, and 8 mid-size cities. Calcium and riboflavin intakes of the elderly subjects aged 65 yr and over (n = 1,974) were much lower compared with Korean RDA. Nutrient intakes of the three age group (50-64 yr, 65-74 yr, 75 yr and over) were decreased as age increased in male and female elderly. Nutrient intakes of male elderly, 75 yr and over, were significantly decreased while in female elderly nutrient intakes were gradually decreased as age increased. Over 30% of the elderly subjects did not meet 75% RDA for calcium, iron, vitamin A, and riboflavin. The proportion of the elderly subjects whose intakes were below 75% RDA was much higher than the elderly whose intakes were above 125% RDA, especially among the elderly aged 75 yr and over. This study revealed that the Korean elderly had inadequate intakes for many nutrients. This will cause a serious nutritional problem for the elderly.
This study examined within- and between-person variation in nutrient intakes in order to estimate the degree of precision in dietary assessment among 37 males and 46 females whose mean age was 70.4 years old. To collect dietary data, each subject was interviewed 5 or 6 times using a 24-hour recall method during a 3 month period. Within-person variation ranged from 23.5% to 101.2%. Lower values of within-person variation were observed in energy, carbohydrated, protein and phosphorous while higher value was observed in vitamin A. Between person variations of nutrient intakes ranged 12.6-23.5% in most nutrients. With 1 day dietary data, observed nutrient intakes were estimated to within 6-25% of the group's usual9true) intakes and 52-198% of the individuals' usual intakes. The values of these maximum percentage deviations became smaller when the number of dietary recalls increased. The results of this study suggest that the Korean elderly subjects appear to have a slightly less diverse diet compared to young Korean women. Within persons, intakes of nutrients largely from animal sources were more variable for the Korean elderly than for their counterparts in Western countries. This study also implies that commonly used 1 day dietary study may be appropriate for assessing group means of nutrient intakes, but clearly not appropriate for assessing individual's nutrient intakes.