Association between nut consumption and disability free survival in community dwelling adults 70 years and over

Background
There is a growing body of evidence on the association of nut consumption and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality but limited research on the association between nut consumption and disability free survival, a composite outcome of relevance for healthy ageing.
Aim
To establish the association between usual nut consumption and disability free survival in community dwelling adults over the age of 70 years.
Methods
Prospective cohort study of 9,734 community dwelling adults aged ≥70 years who were participants in the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) study and the ASPREE Longitudinal Study of
Older Persons (ALSOP). The outcome disability-free survival was a composite of all-cause mortality, dementia, or persistent physical disability. Cox proportional hazards regression models, adjusted for socio-demographic, health-related and clinical covariates were used to examine the association between usual frequency of nut consumption and disability free survival.
Results
There were 393 events over a 6 year follow up period. When adjusted for all covariates, compared to nut consumption rarely or never, daily nut consumption was associated with a 50% (HR 0.50 (CI 95% 0.33-0.76), p value 0.001) reduction in risk of the disability free survival endpoint.
Stratified by gender this association maintained significance for men (HR 0.41 (CI 95%0.22-0.77), p value 0.005), but failed to retain significance in women(HR 0.61 (CI 95%0.34-1.08), p value 0.088).
Conclusion
The regular consumption of nuts in community dwelling adults 70 years and over is associated with a reduced risk of all cause mortality, dementia and physical disability.