The Usefulness of Day-Service in Maintaining General Nutritional Status in Elderly Japanese: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Day-service, commuting service for elderly people requiring care at home, is one healthcare option in Japan. To date, however, there exist no studies that have examined the effects of day-service use on health outcomes in Japan. The objective of the present longitudinal study was to determine whether there is an association between day-service use and various physical and mental health outcomes in elderly people requiring care. The subjects were 61 elderly persons who required between 25 and 49 min of assistance per day and used long-term care insurance. Measurements included demographic characteristics, activities of daily living, frequency of day-service use, body weight, height, grip strength, thigh muscle volume, degree of depression (Geriatric Depression Scale), the mini-mental state examination, and serum albumin and blood hemoglobin levels in the baseline and follow-up surveys two years later. In the day-service user group, the mean changes in serum albumin concentrations using day-service once, twice and three times/week were −0.2, −0.3, and 0 g/dl, respectively, and the mean changes in blood hemoglobin were −0.7, −0.5, and 0.2 g/dl, respectively. The two-year change in serum albumin concentrations was less ( p = 0.024) in subjects using day-service "three times" (0 g/dl) than "twice" (−0.3 g/dl). The two-year change in blood hemoglobin was also less ( p = 0.043) in subjects using day-service "three times" (0.2 g/dl) than "twice" (−0.5 g/dl). The present study has shown that frequent use of day-service is useful in maintaining general nutritional status in elderly people.albumin; community health services; cohort studies; elderly; hemoglobin © 2007 Tohoku University Medical PressDay-service, commuting service for elderly people requiring care at home, is one healthcare option, administered by local governments throughout Japan. Day-service consists of a number of services, including bathing and meal service (with assistance when needed), consultation,

Medium-Chain Triacylglycerol Suppresses the Decrease of Plasma Albumin Level through the Insulin-Akt-mTOR Pathway in the Livers of Malnourished Rats

“…When serum albumin decreased by 1 g/L, the odds of being classified as malnourished increased 1.1-fold (25); thus, serum albumin is a marker of nutrition status (26). The present study showed that dietary MCT improved plasma albumin concentration compared with LCT (Table 3), similar to the results of a previous study (5,6).…”

Effect of Dietary Medium-Chain Triacylglycerol on Serum Albumin and Nitrogen Balance in Malnourished Rats

“…When serum albumin decreased by 1 g/l, the odds of being classified as malnourished increased 1.1 times [ 5 ]. So, serum albumin is a marker of nutritional status [ 12 ]. In this study, serum albumin concentration was higher in the MCT group than in the LCT group, suggesting that nutritional status of the MCT group was improved.…”

Nutrition and dietetics in aged care

“…For those who need assistance with daily living activities, a successful approach has been to transport the elderly to community‐based centres, where lunch, snacks, bathing, professional consultations, rehabilitation and recreational activities are provided during daytime hours. A two‐year longitudinal study in Japan has shown that adult daycare service is useful in maintaining nutritional status 69 . The booming population of elderly persons is also bringing about new business opportunities for food services targeting older consumers 70 .…”