Abstract
A milk-based food supplement has been given to two groups of elderly patients who were anticipated to be at risk of malnutrition and an attempt made to assess its effects. The first group consisted of twelve geriatric hospital patients who were given the supplement following an initial period during which baseline measurements were made. Similar measurements were made at monthly intervals during the administration of the supplement and two measurements were made at intervals of two weeks after stopping the supplement. Assessment of mental function in these patients proved very difficult and no conclusions could be drawn from the results of the six different methods used. Grip strength, however, increased on supplementation, and there were significant rises in the blood levels of thiamin, ascorbic acid, folate and 2,5-hydroxycholecalciferol. These changes tended to be reversed after the supplement had been stopped. The administration of the supplement did not change the various haematological parameters that were measured. Evidence of thiamin deficiency, as indicated by a raised TPP value, was found in eight of the patients. Evidence of ascorbic acid deficiency, as shown by a low leucocyte ascorbic acid level, was found in four of the patients. All the patients, except one, liked the supplement, and almost all said that they felt better when receiving it, and noticed a difference when it was stopped. The second study was a pilot investigation of the effects of the supplement in elderly patients (nine women and one man) with a fractured femur. The investigation was carried out, like the first one, in a longitudinal fashion with the patients serving as their own control, but in addition some patients were studied who did not receive the supplement and some who received a supplement that did not contain the large amounts of vitamins present in the full supplement. Ascorbic acid and thiamin status were assessed daily in eight and five patients respectively for up to 7 days post-operatively. Nitrogen and calcium excretion for 2 4 hours was assessed in nine patients for up to 14 days after operation. Four out of eight patients had low plasma ascorbic acid levels either pre-or immediately post-operatively. In two patients who did not receive the full supplement the value remained below 0.2 mg per 100 ml for seven days post-operatively whereas in one patient who was at this level pre-operatively the level rose after three days on the supplement. Similar beneficial effects of the supplement were noted in the case of thiamin. These studies suggest that a food supplement similar to that used in these studies will be of benefit to elderly individuals, and particularly to those with an underlying medical condition that pre-disposes them to malnutrition.