A. Lana, E. Struijk, R. Ortolá
Feb 3, 2020
Citations
2
Influential Citations
5
Citations
Quality indicators
Journal
The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ageing is associated with a progressive difficulty to maintain ion regulation, which might impair the capacity for muscle contraction. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the association between 5-year changes in dietary intake of sodium and potassium and changes in physical performance among older adults. METHODS We performed a prospective study with 868 participants from the Seniors-ENRICA cohort. Diet was measured with a validated diet history and physical performance was measured with the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), both in 2012 and 2017. Analyses were performed with linear regression models adjusted for socio-demographic variables, lifestyle and morbidity, using changes in the intake of sodium and potassium and changes in the sodium/potassium ratio during follow-up as independent variables, and the continuous change in the SPPB score as the dependent variable. RESULTS Over 5-years of follow-up, a 1-standard deviation (SD) increase in sodium intake (i.e. 0.73 g/d) was associated with a 0.13 (95% CI: 0.26 to 0.01) points reduction in the SPPB score, while a 1-SD increase in potassium intake (i.e. 0.70 g/d) was associated with a 0.19 (0.05 to 0.34) points increment in the score. In addition, a 1-SD increase in the sodium-to-potassium ratio (i.e. 0.30) was associated with worse SPPB (-0.58 [-0.95 to -0.21]). Participants who adhered to dietary recommendations for minerals at baseline but became non-compliant during follow-up decreased their result in the SPPB. CONCLUSION An increase of dietary sodium intake, a decrease of potassium intake and the resulting increment in the sodium-to-potassium ratio were prospectively associated with worse physical performance in older adults.