Research

Mixed

Higher scores on five distinct dietary indices (Nutrition Index, E-DII, HEI-2015, MDS, DASH) are significantly associated with increased risk of frailty and higher 8-year mortality risk in adults across all ages.

Adhere to established healthy dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean, DASH, or HEI-2015 guidelines. These patterns, which emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats while limiting processed foods and added sugars, are associated with a lower risk of frailty and mortality. You do not need to track every nutrient; focusing on the overall quality of your diet is sufficient to gain these benefits.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
higher NI and E-DII scores and lower HEI-2015, MDS, and DASH scores were individually significantly associated with frailty. All dietary scores were significantly associated with 8-year mortality risk after adjusting for basic covariates and frailty
Kulapong Jayanama et al. · BMC Medicine · 2021

Why this rating

Large sample size (N=15,249), longitudinal follow-up (up to 8 years), and adjustment for multiple confounders.

Source

Relationship between diet quality scores and the risk of frailty and mortality in adults across a wide age spectrum

Kulapong Jayanama et al. · BMC Medicine · 2021

DOI 10.1186/s12916-021-01918-5

cohort · n=15249Cited 167×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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