Sex-Specific Associations between Plant-Forward Dietary Patterns and Frailty among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Higher Seafood Intake among Women in the Kyotango Baseline Cohort

This study aimed to evaluate sex-specific associations between food intake and frailty using cross-sectional data from 786 participants (317 men, 469 women) aged 65–101 y from the baseline survey of the Kyotango cohort study. In multivariate-adjusted models, men in the highest quartile of bean intake and vegetable intake other than green and yellow vegetables (other vegetables) had 78% and 83% lower risks of frailty, respectively, than those in the lowest quartile. Similarly, women in the highest quartile of other vegetable intake had 76% lower risks of frailty than those in the lowest quartile. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that Cluster 3, characterized by frequent intake of seafood, milk, and plant-based foods, including tuber vegetables, beans, green and yellow vegetables, other vegetables, and fruits, was associated with a reduced risk of frailty. In conclusion, plant-based dietary patterns were associated with a lower prevalence of frailty in men and women. Within this pattern, women consumed more seafood, suggesting a sex-specific feature of the dietary profile.