Food and nutrient intakes and overall survival of elderly Japanese

As parr of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) Food Habi ts in Later Life Project, a group of 89 free-living Japanese aged 70 years and over (43 men and 46 women) residing in semiurban Okazaki, located in th e middle of Honshu Island in Japan, were studied. They were followed up in order to determine whether nutrition plays a role in Japanese longevity. In formation on food and nutrient intake was collected at study entry. During 55 months follow-up, eight men and five women died. The consumption of vari ous food groups, after adjustment for energy intake to 10.5 MJ for men and 8.4 MJ for women, was similar for survivors and deceased, but there was a g reater consumption of mushrooms and fats and oils among the survivors (P<0. 05). Furthermore, survivors had a higher intake of total n-3 fatty acids, e specially alpha-linolenic acid, compared with the deceased (P < 0.05). Subj ects who were not chronically energy deficient (BMI greater than or equal t o 18.5 kg/m(2)) showed a better survival probability with a higher intake o f total n-3 fatty acids (greater than or equal to 2.1 g/day, 25th percentil e). A similar result for total n-3 fatty acids and alpha-linolenic acid was found using Cox proportional hazards analyses adjusted for age, gender and smoking status (P <0.05). After adjustment for bodyweight, the conditional ly essential amino acid tyrosine was higher in women who survived (P<0.05). These findings suggest that the intake of n-3 fatty acids and of certain a mino acids might be particularly important in elderly people for living lon ger.