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ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Flavonoids are a group of polyphenolic compounds, which is obtained from plants. Studies have shown the beneficial effects of dietary flavonoids on metabolic risks and stress level. The present study was conducted to determine the association of total flavonoids intake with metabolic risks and stress level among older adults.
METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted on 77 free-living older adults, who were recruited from a selected area in Klang Valley. Information on dietary flavonoids intake and perceived stress levels were collected through Flavonoid Food Frequency Questionnaire and perceived stress scale 10 (PSS10) respectively. Body mass index and waist circumference were also measured to assess the body weight status. CardioCheck PA and Accu-chek Performa glucometer was used to measure the serum lipid and blood glucose levels respectively, to determine risks of metabolic syndrome. Blood pressure was measured using OMRON HEM 7211 Premium Blood Pressure Machine. An objective method of determining the stress levels was by measuring the salivary cortisol levels, using Salimetrics Salivary Cortisol ELISA Kit. Unstimulated saliva samples were collected at the morning and stored at -400C until further analysis. SPSS ver. 21 was used to analyse the data.
RESULTS: The median age of the subjects was 64 years old. Majority of the subjects were Chinese (85.7%) and females were more than males. Their education level was mostly primary or secondary school. Total dietary flavonoids intake had no significant association with blood glucose (p= 0.772), blood pressure (p = 0.202), BMI (p = 0.29), waist circumference (p = 0.57) and body fat percentage (p = 0.59). Spearman’s correlation test showed that dietary flavonoids intake was not significantly associated with HDL (p = 0.337), TG (p= 0.552) and stress level in both PSS-10 score value (r=-0.021, p>0.05) and salivary cortisol level (r=-0.048, p>0.05).
CONCLUSION: In the present study, no association between total flavonoids intake with metabolic risks and stress level among the free-living older adults was observed. This suggests the need for further studies in larger population size to validate the results.
Keywords- Flavonoids, metabolic risks, stress level