Study of the effect of a liquid nutrition supplement on the nutritional status of psycho-geriatric nursing home patients

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the acceptance of a multinutrient liquid nutrition supplement in psycho-geriatric nursing home patients and the effect on weight, plasma nutrients and activities of daily life. Design: Double-blind, placebo-controlled 12-week intervention study. Setting: Two nursing homes in Boxtel, The Netherlands. Subjects: Forty-two (body mass index (BMI) < 23 kg=m 2 for men or < 25 kg=m 2 for women) psycho-geriatric nursing home patients aged 60 y or over. Interventions: Provision with a complete micronutrient-enriched liquid nutrition supplement of 125 ml and 0.6 MJ (135 kcal) or placebo twice daily during daytime between main meals. Study parameters were assessed at 0, 6 and 12 weeks. Main Outcome for Measures: Weight, Barthel index of daily activities, several plasma values (albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), homocysteine, thiamine, thiamine diphosphate (TDF), vitamin B 6 , vitamin B 12 , folic acid, vitamin D), bowel function. Results: The supplement was well accepted. Thirty-five patients completed the intervention period (16 control group; 19 supplement group). Baseline daily nutrient intake was low. A statistically significant improvement was observed for body weight (difference between groups 2.2 kg, P ¼ 0.03), and homocysteine, vitamin B 1 , TDF, vitamin B 6 , vitamin B 12 , folate and vitamin D in the supplement group compared to the placebo group. No significant difference was observed in the Barthel index (mean difference 7 0.3 AE 1.1 for both groups). No difference in occurrence of diarrhoea was observed. Conclusions: The study shows that nutritional supplementation is well accepted and can improve the nutritional status of psycho-geriatric nursing home patients.

Effect of a nutrient-enriched drink on dietary intake and nutritional status in institutionalised elderly

“…On the basis of an MMSE score of 23.5 points (p 10 -p 90 : 10.7-27.3) and Barthel Index of 16, we may characterize our population of 80 years of age on an average as an institutionalised, borderline-demented population, but reasonably independent for activities of daily living. Baseline mean energy, protein, fat intake and intakes of vitamins and minerals of our population were much lower than that of the independently living Dutch elderly of the SENECA study Moreiras et al, 1991), but were similar to the low intakes observed in Dutch nursing-home residents (van-der-Wielen et al, 1995;Wouters-Wesseling et al, 2002). One-third of our participants had an energy intake below 6.3 MJ/day, which is one of the indicators of risk for inadequate micronutrient intakes (de-Groot et al, 1996).…”

“…Two-thirds of the participants were allocated to the intervention (n ¼ 119) group and one-third to the placebo drink (n ¼ 57) group. We based this unequal distribution of participants on the positive results on nutritional status in a pilot study (Wouters-Wesseling et al, 2002).…”

“…Institutionalised elderly people often have a low intake of energy and micronutrients (van-der-Wielen et al, 1995;Berner et al, 2002;Wouters-Wesseling et al, 2002), leading to micronutrient deficiencies.…”

“…Dietary intake was, however, not assessed (Faxén-Irving et al, 2002;Bonnefoy et al, 2003), or was assessed only at baseline (van-der-Wielen et al, 1995;Wouters-Wesseling et al, 2002). Other studies were mostly conducted in freeliving individuals and were of short duration (McKay et al, 2000) or were without a placebo treatment (Gray Donald et al, 1995;Krondl et al, 1999;Payette et al, 2002).…”

Vitamin B12 status in older adults living in Ontario long-term care homes: prevalence and incidence of deficiency with supplementation as a protective factor

“…Up to 70% of older adults (≥65 years) living in long-term care (LTC) homes are at risk for undernutrition (Wouters-Wesseling et al 2002;Isenring et al 2012), which can lead to mortality and morbidity (Pirlich and Lochs 2001). Micronutrient malnutrition exists and is poorly studied in LTC older adults (Lam et al 2015a(Lam et al , 2015b.…”