Dietary patterns among older Europeans: the EPIC-Elderly study - PubMed (original) (raw)

Multicenter Study

doi: 10.1079/bjn20051456.

Philippos Orfanos, Pietro Ferrari, Kim Overvad, Heidi H Hundborg, Anne Tjønneland, Anja Olsen, Emmanuelle Kesse, Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault, Françoise Clavel-Chapelon, Gabriele Nagel, Paolo Boffetta, Heiner Boeing, Kurt Hoffmann, Dimitrios Trichopoulos, Nikos Baibas, Theodora Psaltopoulou, Teresa Norat, Nadia Slimani, Domenico Palli, Vittorio Krogh, Salvatore Panico, Rosario Tumino, Carlotta Sacerdote, H B Bueno-de-Mesquita, Marga C Ocké, Petra H Peeters, Caroline T van Rossum, José-Ramón Quirós, Maria-José Sánchez, Carmen Navarro, Aurelio Barricarte, Miren Dorronsoro, Göran Berglund, Elisabet Wirfält, Göran Hallmans, Ingegerd Johansson, Sheila Bingham, Kay-Tee Khaw, Elizabeth A Spencer, Andrew W Roddam, Elio Riboli, Antonia Trichopoulou

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Multicenter Study

Dietary patterns among older Europeans: the EPIC-Elderly study

Christina Bamia et al. Br J Nutr. 2005 Jul.

Free article

Abstract

Overall dietary patterns have been associated with health and longevity. We used principal component (PC) and cluster analyses to identify the prevailing dietary patterns of 99 744 participants, aged 60 years or older, living in nine European countries and participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Elderly cohort) and to examine their socio-demographic and lifestyle correlates. Two PC were identified: PC1 reflects a 'vegetable-based' diet with an emphasis on foods of plant origin, rice, pasta and other grain rather than on margarine, potatoes and non-alcoholic beverages. PC2 indicates a 'sweet- and fat-dominated' diet with a preference for sweets, added fat and dairy products but not meat, alcohol, bread and eggs. PC1 was associated with a younger age, a higher level of education, physical activity, a higher BMI, a lower waist:hip ratio and never and past smoking. PC2 was associated with older age, less education, never having smoked, a lower BMI and waist:hip ratio and lower levels of physical activity. Elderly individuals in southern Europe scored positively on PC1 and about zero on PC2, whereas the elderly in northern Europe scored negatively on PC1 and variably on PC2. The results of cluster analysis were compatible with the indicated dietary patterns. 'Vegetable-based' and a 'sweet- and fat-dominated' diets are prevalent among the elderly across Europe, and there is a north-south gradient regarding their dietary choices. Our study contributes to the identification of groups of elderly who are likely to have different prospects for long-term disease occurrence and survival.

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