Longer intervals between meals associated with faster accumulation of chronic diseases

Older adults who typically had longer intervals between meals accumulated chronic diseases more rapidly over time than those with shorter intervals, according to a study from Karolinska Institutet published in the Journal of Internal Medicine. The association was most pronounced among people aged 78 years and older.

Interest in fasting has increased in recent years, but relatively little is known about how meal timing affects health in older adults. In this new study, researchers investigated whether the duration of the longest daily interval between meals was associated with the accumulation of chronic diseases over time.

The researchers used data from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K), which includes 2,981 people in Stockholm who were aged 60 years or older at the start of the study. Participants were followed for up to 15 years. The duration of intervals between meals was estimated from participants' self-reported information about when they typically ate during a 24-hour period.

Association seen across disease types

Longer intervals between meals were associated with faster accumulation of chronic diseases over time. In particular, people whose longest interval between meals during a typical day was 14 to 24 hours accumulated chronic diseases more rapidly than those whose longest interval was 6 to 11.5 hours. The association was observed for the total number of chronic diseases, as well as for cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric diseases, but not for musculoskeletal diseases.

Much of the research on fasting has been conducted in younger or middle-aged populations. Our findings suggest that the associations may be different in older adults, particularly among the oldest age groups."

Adrián Carballo Casla, last author of the study and postdoctoral researcher at the Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet

The researchers emphasize that the study cannot determine cause and effect. Although longer intervals between meals were linked to faster disease accumulation, the study cannot establish whether the fasting pattern independently contributed to this outcome.