NUTRITIONAL-STATUS OF ELDERLY CHINESE VEGETARIANS

Aim: to study the nutritional status of elderly Chinese vegetarians. S ubjects and method: dietary intake (using the 24-h recall method), ant hropometric indices and some nutritional laboratory parameters were st udied in 131 elderly Chinese vegetarian women with a mean age of 81 ye ars. Data from age- and sec-matched omnivore subjects from previous el derly surveys were used for comparison. Results: total energy, fat and protein calorie, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin intakes mere lower i n vegetarians than in non-vegetarians, while carbohydrate calorie, cal cium, potassium, retinol equivalent and ascorbic acid intakes were hig her. The 25th, 50th and 75th percentile for total body fat were lower and those for corrected arm muscle area were higher in vegetarians. Bo th urinary Na/Cr and K/Cr ratios were higher but the Na/K ratio was si milar to that in non-vegetarians, as were mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Serum total cholesterol was lower, while serum trigly ceride concentration nas similar The mean haemoglobin level was lower in vegetarians, the prevalence of anaemia being 30%, with deficiencies in B12 and/or iron accounting for 64% of the anaemia, compared with o nly 30% in non-vegetarians. Serum B12 concentration below the referenc e range occurred in 54% of the vegetarian subjects. Vegetarians also h ad a lower prevalence of a history of ischaemic heart disease; however , the prevalence of smoking was also lower. Conclusion: while the Chin ese vegetarian diet may result in a favourable risk-factor profile for ischaemic heart disease, it is deficient in many B vitamins and gives rise to a high frequency of nutritional anaemias.