Nutrition drink aids older hospitalized patients

By Joene Hendry

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The general health of elderly hospitalized patients improved, along with their physical and social functioning, when they were given oral nutritional supplements in addition to the normal hospital diet, researchers report.

"Paying attention to and correcting nutrition in older people, specifically those who are ill, can lead to a significant improvement in their well-being," Dr. Salah Gariballa told Reuters Health.

Gariballa, of United Arab Emirates University in Al-Ain, and colleagues studied aspects of the quality of life of 225 hospitalized men and women, aged 75 years on average.

The patients, hospitalized for cardiovascular problems, lung disease, fractures, or infections, received a normal hospital diet plus either a placebo drink or a 995-calorie nutritional supplement twice daily for 6 weeks.

The nutritional supplement provided 100 percent of the Reference Nutrient Intakes for older adults for vitamins A, C, D, E, B1, B6, B12, folic acid, niacin, biotin, and pantothenic acid, as well as the minerals potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, iron, zinc, iodine, copper, manganese, and selenium, the investigators report in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Quality of life assessments after 6 weeks did not identify significant differences between the patients who received the supplements compared with those given the placebo.

However, after 6 months the patients given the nutritional supplement showed significantly better quality of life scores compared with patients who got the placebo. Measures of physical and social function were better, vitality was better, and mental health improved among the supplemented compared with non-supplemented patients.

This trial demonstrated that nutritional supplementation in hospitalized older people provides clinically important benefits, the investigators note.

Widespread use of nutritional supplements among older patients could have a substantial impact on the quality of life for older people, Gariballa and colleagues conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, December 2007.