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Nutritional supplementation for older people

Part of: Bespoke shallow archive Weizmann

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2010

Matt A Lambert ,
Jan M Potter  and
Marion ET McMurdo
Matt A Lambert*
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine for the Elderly, NHS Tayside, UK
Jan M Potter
Affiliation:
Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Marion ET McMurdo
Affiliation:
Ageing and Health, Division of Medical Sciences, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Matt Lambert, Ageing and Health, Division of Medical Sciences, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee DD1 9SY. Email: mlambert@nhs.net
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Summary

Malnutrition is common in older people and is associated with a number of adverse outcomes. We review the evidence for the effectiveness of nutritional supplementation for older people in the community, in institutional care and following discharge from hospital. Studies in these settings are scarce, often include only small numbers of participants and are of variable quality. The interventions used are heterogeneous and difficult to directly compare. Oral nutritional supplements (sip feeds), dietary fortification, educational programmes, exercise, flavour enhancement and meal setting have all been studied. Evidence for use of oral nutritional supplements as sip feeds in undernourished community-dwelling and institutionalized older people and in those discharged from hospital is currently insufficient to recommend routine use. Flavour enhancement and more sociable meal environments may be beneficial. Further, more methodologically robust research is needed to clarify the effect of these interventions.

Keywords

older peopleelderly peoplemalnutritionnutritional supplementsnutritioncommunity
Type
Intermediate care and rehabilitation
Information
Reviews in Clinical Gerontology , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , November 2010 , pp. 317 - 326
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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