Nutrition Disorders in Old Age
Conditions
Keywords
Older people, Nutrition, Snack, Dairy, Protein, Berries
Brief summary
Malnutrition or its risk is common among older people, especially among those receiving home care services. It impairs the quality of life of the older people and results in significant costs to society. To maintain adequate nutrition, increased meal frequency is important. In addition to main meals, regular consumption of tasty, convenient, nutrient- and energy-dense snacks is recommended. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of dairy- and berry-based snack consumption on nutritional and functional status and quality of life among vulnerable older people at home care.
Interventions
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTDairy- and berry-based snacks
High-protein dairy-based products and energy-enriched berry products for three months
Sponsors
University of Eastern Finland
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
70 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Home care clients of the City of Kuopio
Exclusion criteria
* Advanced dementia
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Nutritional status | Baseline and 3 months | Nutritional status is assessed by the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) test which is a validated and standardized tool for detecting malnutrition and its risk in older people. Scores 24.0 - 30.0 indicate normal nutritional status, scores 17.0 - 23.5 risk of malnutrition and scores \< 17.0 malnutrition. Change in the MNA score is determined. |
| Albumin | Baseline and 3 months | Change in plasma albumin concentration |
| Prealbumin | Baseline and 3 months | Change in plasma prealbumin concentration |
| Hand grip strength | Baseline and 3 months | Change in grip strength of both hands |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Activity and sleep assessed by ActiGraph monitoring | Baseline and 3 months | Changes in several parameters describing physical activity and quality of sleep |
| C-reactive protein (CRP) | Baseline and 3 months | Change in plasma high-sensitivity CRP concentration |
| Health-related quality of life | Baseline and 3 months | Health-related quality of life is assessed by the 15D instrument. It is a generic, standardized instrument consisting of 15 dimensions: moving, vision, hearing, breathing, sleeping, eating, speech, elimination, usual activities, mental functioning, discomfort/symptoms, depression, distress, vitality, and sexual activity. Each dimension is divided into five levels by which more or less an attribute is distinguished. In this study 15D is used as single index score measure. The single index score (15D score) is calculated from the health state descriptive system through the use of an additive three-stage valuation model based on the multiattribute utility theory. The preference weights for the 15 dimensions, and their levels have been elicited from representative population samples. The 15D score is on a 0-1 scale, where 1 stands for full health and 0 being dead. Change in the 15D score is determined, and a change of ±.03 is clinically important. |
| Mid-arm muscular area (MMA) | Baseline and 3 months | Change in MMA |
| Hemoglobin | Baseline and 3 months | Change in blood hemoglobin concentration |
| Body mass index (BMI) | Baseline and 3 months | Change in BMI |
Countries
Finland
Outcome results
None listed