Abstract

Background: Consuming a poor diet and being physically inactive may increase the risk of developing disabilities of old age. Objective: To investigate correlations between Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) scores, physical activity levels, and disabilities of old age in a large biracial cohort. Methods: The ARIC Study is a prospective cohort aged 45–64 years at baseline. Overall diet quality was assessed using the HEI-2010. A physical activity score was the sum of work, sports, and leisure. Activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and functional abilities were compared with HEI-2010 and physical activity by logistic regression 9 years after the baseline examination. Results: Compared with the lowest quartile, quartile 4 healthier HEI-2010 scores showed an odds ratios of 0.76 (95% confidence interval 0.67–0.87) for functional disability, 0.89 (95% CI 0.75–1.07) for ADL disabilities, and 0.88 (95% CI 0.76–0.1.03) for IADL disabilities. Compared with the lowest tertile, tertile 3 of physical activity showed an odds ratios of 0.60 (95% CI 0.54–0.67) for functional disability, 0.68 (95% CI 0.60–0.78) for ADL disabilities, and 0.53 (95% CI 0.47–0.60) for IADL disabilities. Conclusions: Healthier diet and higher physical activity were associated with lower levels of the disabilities of aging, particularly functional disability, at follow up.