The relationship between meat consumption and frailty among community-residing older adults in Nanjing municipality, China.
4 affiliations
- 1Nanjing Vocational Health College, Nanjing, China.
- 2Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Nanjing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, China.
- 3Jiangsu Province Official Hospital, Nanjing, China.
- 4Geriatric Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Abstract
Background
Frailty is a common complaint in older adults. Although the world is experiencing a rapid process of aging, the relationship between meat consumption and frailty was not well-documented. This study aimed to examine the association of meat consumption with frailty among older adults in China.Methods
In this cross-sectional study, participants were randomly chosen from community-dwelling residents aged 60 years or above in Nanjing municipality, China, in 2023. Frailty, assessed using Groningen Frailty Indicator, was the outcome variable. Meat consumption frequency, measured using a validated food frequency questionnaire, was dichotomized as independent variable based on official recommendations by China Nutrition Society. Mixed-effects logistic regression models were introduced to compute odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for examining associations between meat consumption and frailty.Results
Among 5,484 participants, frailty prevalence was 16.9% (95% CI = 15.9, 17.9). Significant difference in frailty prevalence was observed among participants by age (the younger-old vs. the middle-old vs. the oldest-old: 13.2% vs.17.9% vs. 32.8%), sex (men vs. women: 15.8% vs. 17.9%) or area (urban vs. sub-urban: 15.1% vs. 18.1%). After adjustment for potential confounders, participants who reached recommendation of meat consumption were less likely to have frailty (OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.60, 0.81) relative to those who consumed meat below the recommended level. Moreover, when data were analyzed by age, sex or residential area, the relationship between meat intake and frailty remained significant among all the subgroups with an exception of that it became non-significant for the oldest-old adults.Conclusions
A inverse relationship may exist between meat intake and frailty among community-dwelling older individuals in regional China. This study has particular significance of public health for building the healthy-aging society, suggesting that inadequate intake of meat may be a risk factor of frailty for community-dwelling older adults.
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BibTeX
@article{dong2026relationship,
title = {{The relationship between meat consumption and frailty among community-residing older adults in Nanjing municipality, China.}},
author = {Zhao Dong and Qing Ye and Caihong Hu and Yunting Xu and Guofeng Ao and Luyan Yang and Fengli Li and Shifen Jia and Yaqing Xiong and Yu Dou},
journal = {Frontiers in nutrition},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fnut.2026.1955451},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903180},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The relationship between meat consumption and frailty among community-residing older adults in Nanjing municipality, China.
AU - Zhao Dong
AU - Qing Ye
AU - Caihong Hu
AU - Yunting Xu
AU - Guofeng Ao
AU - Luyan Yang
AU - Fengli Li
AU - Shifen Jia
AU - Yaqing Xiong
AU - Yu Dou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - Frontiers in nutrition
DO - 10.3389/fnut.2026.1955451
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903180
AB - Background Frailty is a common complaint in older adults. Although the world is experiencing a rapid process of aging, the relationship between meat consumption and frailty was not well-documented. This study aimed to examine the association of meat consumption with frailty among older adults in China.Methods In this cross-sectional study, participants were randomly chosen from community-dwelling residents aged 60 years or above in Nanjing municipality, China, in 2023. Frailty, assessed using Groningen Frailty Indicator, was the outcome variable. Meat consumption frequency, measured using a validated food frequency questionnaire, was dichotomized as independent variable based on official recommendations by China Nutrition Society. Mixed-effects logistic regression models were introduced to compute odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for examining associations between meat consumption and frailty.Results Among 5,484 participants, frailty prevalence was 16.9% (95% CI = 15.9, 17.9). Significant difference in frailty prevalence was observed among participants by age (the younger-old vs. the middle-old vs. the oldest-old: 13.2% vs.17.9% vs. 32.8%), sex (men vs. women: 15.8% vs. 17.9%) or area (urban vs. sub-urban: 15.1% vs. 18.1%). After adjustment for potential confounders, participants who reached recommendation of meat consumption were less likely to have frailty (OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.60, 0.81) relative to those who consumed meat below the recommended level. Moreover, when data were analyzed by age, sex or residential area, the relationship between meat intake and frailty remained significant among all the subgroups with an exception of that it became non-significant for the oldest-old adults.Conclusions A inverse relationship may exist between meat intake and frailty among community-dwelling older individuals in regional China. This study has particular significance of public health for building the healthy-aging society, suggesting that inadequate intake of meat may be a risk factor of frailty for community-dwelling older adults.
SN - 2296-861X
ER -