Dietary habits and medical examination findings in Japanese middle-aged and older adults living alone

Abstract Objective The influence of living alone on multiple food and nutrition behaviors across a range of ages and genders has not been sufficiently investigated. Moreover, no studies have described both dietary status and medical examination findings in persons living alone. We investigated dietary habits and medical examination findings in persons living alone and those living with another person(s) who attended a rural town's health checkup in Japan. Methods The subjects for this investigation included 501 community-dwelling individuals aged 40-91 (63.8±9.9 years). Thirty-four of 207 men (16.4%) and 45 of 294 women (15.3%) lived alone. Using a self-completed questionnaire, dietary intake frequency was investigated concerning 28 kinds of foods and drinks, including various vegetables, fruits, meat, seafood, and dairy products. During the physical examination, body weight, body mass index, body fat percentage, and blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) were measured. Blood examination included red blood cell count, white blood cell count, platelet count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, total protein, albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, and serum calcium. Results Multivariate analysis revealed that living alone independently reduced the intake frequency of various vegetables and seafood, especially in men. Diastolic blood pressure and triglyceride levels were significantly higher in males living alone than in males living with another person(s). A/G ratio in females living alone was significantly lower than in females living with another person(s). Conclusion It was found that living alone caused not only reduction of the quality of dietary intake but also an unfavorable trend in some of the medical examination findings.