Study of the components and adherence to the Mediterranean diet on functional and cognitive ageing: from dietary assessment to a metabolomic approach
[eng] Healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet, have been linked to reduced chronic disease risk and mortality. However, the evidence regarding the impact of healthy dietary patterns on physical and cognitive functions in older adults is still inconclusive due to limitations in tradi...
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| Formato: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universidad de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/210810 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/2445/210810 http://hdl.handle.net/10803/690823 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Envelliment Trastorns de la cognició Condició física Cuina mediterrània Marcadors bioquímics Aging Cognition disorders Physical fitness Mediterranean cooking Biochemical markers |
| Resumo: | [eng] Healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet, have been linked to reduced chronic disease risk and mortality. However, the evidence regarding the impact of healthy dietary patterns on physical and cognitive functions in older adults is still inconclusive due to limitations in traditional dietary data collection methods, which are prone to measurement errors. To overcome these challenges, the use of dietary biomarkers is proposed. Food biomarkers not only provide more objective measures but also consider factors like food compound bioavailability and the metabolic intervariability of individuals. The hypothesis of this doctoral thesis was that high adherence to a dietary pattern rich in phytochemicals and unsaturated fatty acids, such as the Mediterranean diet, may influence the physical and cognitive health of older adults. The research aimed to explore the effects of the Mediterranean diet and its components on physical and cognitive function in individuals aged 65 and older. The findings of this thesis are documented in five scientific publications. In the framework of the FoodBall Project, the phytochemical profile of legumes was investigated, and their composition was analyzed in a second stage. Beans had the greatest number of described compounds and the most discriminant profile, while lentils, chickpeas, and peas revealed a high number of common compounds. The intervention study with pulses, which aimed to characterize the composition of bioactive compounds in legumes and to identify biomarkers of their consumption, revealed a broad list of candidate metabolites. Some metabolites and their families were found to be specific for certain pulses, while others appeared to be more generic indicators of legume consumption. The relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the response to an exercise and health education program for preventing hospital-associated disability in older patients was investigated using the MEDAS questionnaire. The study showed that patients with low adherence to the Mediterranean diet might benefit more from the intervention. The concentration of urinary total polyphenols was also used as a biomarker of polyphenol intake and as a proxy of the Mediterranean diet, and similar results were obtained. In another study within the InCHIANTI prospective cohort, it was observed that fish consumption was inversely associated with the risk of cognitive decline, a significant contributor to elderly disability. Additionally, a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet, assessed through an a priori Mediterranean diet metabolomic score, was associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline in older adults from the Three-City Study. In conclusion, the research presented in this doctoral thesis provides evidence that adherence to a healthy diet rich in phytochemicals and unsaturated fatty acids, such as the Mediterranean diet, may contribute to the prevention of cognitive and functional decline in older individuals. These findings underscore the importance of refining nutritional metabolomic techniques for future research in the study of diet-health relationships in aging and the value of bioactive compounds from food groups with nutritional relevance like legumes and fish. |
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