Association between Protein Intake and the Prevalence of Frailty Among Community-Dwelling Lebanese Older Adults- Preliminary Results

OBJECTIVES: Protein intake is shown to be key determinants of frailty. Nevertheless, the current daily protein recommendation of 0.8 g/kilogram (kg) BW has been proven to be inefficient in providing the required needs of the older population, and intake of 1 g/kg BW of protein was demonstrated to be more representative of the needs of older adults. Therefore, we aimed at examining the association between frailty and protein intake among Lebanese community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: A total of 111 community-dwelling older-adults were randomly recruited from the urban areas from Lebanon, and were interviewed face-to-face. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated FFQ and then analyzed using Nutripro. Energy and macronutrients were determined and protein intake was dichotomized at 0.8 and 1g/kg body weight. Frailty was evaluated via the Fried's Frailty Phenotype. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to determine the association between frailty and protein intake and protein source (animal vs vegetable) while adjusting for several confounding variables. RESULTS: The participants’ mean age was 73±12.8 and 65% were females. Sixteen (14.3%) individuals were identified as frail. Frail individuals were significantly older (p = 0.001), depressed (p< 0.001), at risk of cognitive impairment (p = 0.006) and reported polypharmacy (p = 0.003). Sixty-four % (n = 71) reached a protein intake ≥0.8 g/kg BW and 40.5% (n = 45) had an intake ≥1g/kg BW. No significant association was observed between protein intakes (OR = 1.2, 95%CI = 0.07-19.4), animal proteins (OR = 1.01, 95%CI = 0.99-1.04) or plant proteins (OR = 1.00, 95%CI = 0.996-1.004) and frailty prevalence in this population of community dwelling older adults. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to further study the association between frailty and protein intake, within a larger sample size while taking into consideration protein distribution and timing. In the meantime, older people are recommended to have at least 1g/kg body weight as it was evidenced by several other studied while a revision of dietary protein intake recommendations for OA should be conducted in order to help them maintain optimal health and foster successful aging. FUNDING SOURCES: None