Objective: to determine whether low serum carotenoid levels, an indicator of low intake of fruits and vegetables, are associated with the progression of disability in older women.
Design: longitudinal analysis in a population-based cohort.
Setting: moderately-severely disabled women, >or=65 years, living in the community in Baltimore, Maryland (the Women's Health and Aging Study I).
Participants: 554 women without severe walking disability (inability to walk or walking speed <0.4 m/s) at baseline.
Main outcome measure: incidence of severe walking disability assessed every 6 months over 3 years.
Results: 155 women (27.9%) developed severe walking disability during follow-up. Rates of development of severe walking disability per 100 person-years among women in the lowest and in the three upper quartiles of total carotenoids were, respectively, 13.8 versus 10.9 (P=0.0017). Adjusting for confounders, women in the lowest quartile of total carotenoids were more likely to develop severe walking disability (hazards ratio 1.57, 95% confidence interval 1.24-2.00, P=0.0002) compared with women in the three upper quartiles.
Conclusion: low serum carotenoid levels, an indicator of low intake of fruits and vegetables, are independent predictors of the progression towards severe walking disability among older women living in the community.