Effects of a New Multicomponent Nutritional Supplement on Muscle Mass and Physical Performance in Adult and Old Patients Recovered from COVID-19: A Pilot Observational Case–Control Study

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of a specific oral nutritional supplement among patients recovered from COVID-19 but suffering symptoms of fatigue. Methods: This is an observational case–control study involving a sample of 66 COVID-19 survivors divided in two groups, 33 subjects in the intervention group who received the nutritional supplement and 33 subjects in the control group. The nutritional supplement received by subjects in the active group was based on amino acids; vitamin B6 and B1; and malic, succinic and citric acids. After an 8-week follow-up, the main outcomes considered were skeletal muscle index (measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis), physical performance measures (handgrip strength, one-minute chair–stand test, six-minute walking test), and quality of life (using EuroQol visual analogue scale). Results: All the considered areas increased significantly in the subjects receiving the active treatment with oral nutritional supplement in comparison with the baseline values. After adjusting for age, gender, and baseline values, skeletal muscle index, handgrip strength test, the one-minute chair–stand test, and six-minute walking test values were higher among participants in the treatment group compared with subjects in control group. The oral nutritional supplement significantly improved the handgrip strength; similarly, participants in the active group showed a higher improvement in skeletal muscle index, the one-minute chair–stand test, the six-minute walking test, and in quality of life. Conclusion: The nutritional supplement containing nine essential amino acids plus cysteine; vitamin B6 and B1; and malic, succinic and citric acids had a positive effect on nutritional status, functional recovery, and quality of life in COVID-19 survivors still suffering from fatigue. Additional controlled clinical trials are required to corroborate these results.

Inadequate Physical Activity Is Associated with Worse Physical Function in a Sample of COVID-19 Survivors with Post-Acute Symptoms

“…Most likely, women experience post-acute COVID-19 symptoms more than men [ 21 , 37 ]. Frequently reported Long COVID-19 symptoms are fatigue, dyspnea, and joint-muscle pain [ 38 , 39 , 40 ], which are associated with a reduced tolerance to exercise [ 41 , 42 , 43 ] that may limit physical activity [ 21 , 38 , 44 ].…”

Nutraceuticals in Personalized and Precision Medicine – a preliminary scoping review indicates efficacy for disease treatment, general wellbeing, and defense against Covid-19

“…One was given a nutritional supplement of amino acids, vitamins B1 and B6, malic, succinic, and citric acids while the other did not receive any. Biometric data was collected after eight weeks, and the authors concluded a clear positive quality of life and recovery improvements dur to the intervention [43]. Two reports from Italy, detail doctor's experience of prescribing nutraceuticals during in-patient care, one center administered whey proteins, and intravenous infusions of multivitamins and trace elements as well as targeted vitamins upon detection of deficiencies [45], while the other reports on 94 patients (49 in ICU) who were given high-protein and high-calorie personalized nutritional regimens [46].…”

“…We then manually searched PubMed for articles within our 598 that were related to Covid-19, and found 15 relevant papers (Table 4). Six of them are reviews [37][38][39][40][41][42], two studies provide perhaps the clearest evidence on the subject [43,44]; one is a comparative study that perhaps provides the clearest evidence on the subject [44]. It is a retrospective report on 311 patients with severe Covid-19, treated in February of 2020 at the Wuhan Union Hospital, China.…”

Risk of bias in epidemiological studies regarding nutrition interventions for COVID‐19

“…Several epidemiological studies have investigated the effects of multiple nutrition interventions on the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 disease and post-COVID syndrome, and their results were encouraging. [1][2][3] However, concerns have also been raised regarding the risk of bias in current epidemiological studies. 4 Biased results could result in spurious findings or improbably large effect sizes and might ultimately cause harm to patients or end up being research waste.…”

“…Tianyi He 1 Xueting Liu 2 Ruiqi Lv 3 Guo Cheng 3 1 West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University…”