Fruit and vegetable intake and non-communicable diseases among adults aged ≥50 years in low- and middle-income countries

Smith, Lee, Lopez-Sanchez, Guillermo, Veronese, Nicola, Soysal, Pinar, Oh, Hans, Barnett, Yvonne, Keyes, Helen, Butler, Laurie, Allen, Peter, Kostev, Karel, Jacob, Louis, Shin, Jae Il and Koyanagi, Ai (2022) Fruit and vegetable intake and non-communicable diseases among adults aged ≥50 years in low- and middle-income countries. Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging. ISSN 1760-4788

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The relationship between consuming ≥2 servings of fruits and ≥3 servings of vegetables a day, which has been identified as optimal for health (i.e., adequate fruit/vegetable consumption), and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is largely unknown. Therefore, using data from six LMICs, we investigated the independent association between inadequate fruit/vegetable consumption and 12 NCDs, and estimated the prevalence of inadequate fruit/vegetable consumption among people with NCDs. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional, nationally representative data from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) were analyzed. PARTICIPANTS: Data on 34129 individuals aged ≥50 years were analyzed [mean (SD) age 62.4 (16.0); maximum age 114 years; 52.1% females]. MEASUREMENTS: Information on the number of servings of fruits and vegetables consumed on a typical day was self-reported. Twelve NCDs were assessed. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Overall, 67.2% had inadequate fruit/vegetable consumption. Inadequate fruit/vegetable consumption was independently associated with significantly higher odds for chronic lung disease (OR=1.25), diabetes (OR=1.45), hearing problems (OR=1.75), and visual impairment (OR=2.50). The prevalence of inadequate fruit/vegetable consumption was particularly high among people with visual impairment (92.5%), depression (90.5%), asthma (79.8%), and hearing problems (78.4%). CONCLUSION: Promotion of fruit and vegetable consumption (≥2 servings of fruits and ≥3 servings of vegetables a day) in LMICs may lead to prevention of some NCDs (e.g., diabetes, chronic lung disease). Furthermore, people with certain NCDs (e.g., visual impairment, depression) had particularly high prevalence of inadequate fruit/vegetable consumption, and it is thus important to target this population to increase fruit/vegetable consumption

Item Type:	Journal Article
Keywords:	fruit and vegetable, Non-communicable disease, LMIC, Epidemiology
Faculty:	Faculty of Science & Engineering
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic User
Depositing User:	Symplectic User
Date Deposited:	30 Oct 2022 21:58
Last Modified:	30 Oct 2022 21:58
URI:	https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/id/eprint/707974

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