Association of adherence to Alternative Healthy Eating Index with the metabolic syndrome in Tehranian elderly

Previous studies have shown that high adherence to Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010) reduces the risk of the diseases. However, there is no study related to AHEI-2010 with the metabolic syndrome in the elderly population. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010) with the metabolic syndrome in the elderly population.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 226 elderly residents in Tehran, with a mean age of 67.04 (60-83). Food frequency questionnaire includes 147 food items were collected by qualified and trained experts. Then the score of AHEI-2010 was calculated based on the 11-item food intake and after anthropometric and biochemical measurements the metabolic syndrome was defined by the National Cholesterol Education (NCEP-ATP III).

Higher adherence to AHEI-2010 showed a significant relationship with the metabolic syndrome in the elderly people (p=0.031). This relationship still remained significant after adjustment for age, total energy intake, sex, physical activity level, income, marital status and education level also individuals in the highest tertile of AHEI-2010 had respectively 56 and 59 percent lower chance of developing metabolic syndrome and hyperglycemia.

The present study showed that high adherence to the AHEI-2010 had inverse relationship with the metabolic syndrome among the elderly people of Tehran