Oxidative stress (OS) and inflammatory processes initiate the first stage of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Flavonoid consumption has been related to significantly improved flow-mediated dilation and blood pressure. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms are thought to be involved. The effect of flavonoids on markers of oxidative stress and inflammation, in at risk individuals is yet to be reviewed. Systematic literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and SCOPUS databases. Randomised controlled trials in a Western country providing a food-based flavonoid intervention to participants with one or two modifiable risk factors for CVD measuring a marker of OS and/or inflammation, were included. Reference lists were hand-searched. The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool was used to assess study quality. The search strategy retrieved 1248 articles. Nineteen articles meeting the inclusion criteria were reviewed. Eight studies were considered at low risk of bias. Cocoa flavonoids provided to Type 2 diabetics and olive oil flavonoids to mildly-hypertensive women reduced OS and inflammation. Other food sources had weaker effects. No consistent effect on OS and inflammation across patients with varied CVD risk factors was observed. Study heterogeneity posed a challenge for inter-study comparisons. Rigorously designed studies will assist in determining the effectiveness of flavonoid interventions for reducing OS and inflammation in patients at risk of CVD.

A significant proportion of patients admitted to the AAU is malnourished. There was a trend for these patients to have a longer LOS, indicating a critical need for nutritional management; however LOS as a whole was short. While nutrition support in hospital is useful in reinforcing dietary education, the short LOS emphasized the importance of discharge education and follow-up.

BMI is commonly used as a sole indicator for the assessment of nutritional status. While it is a good predictor of morbidity and mortality among young and middle-aged adults, its predictive ability among the oldest old remains unclear. The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between BMI and risk of falls, fractures and all-cause mortality among older Australians in residential aged care facilities. One thousand eight hundred and forty-six residents of fifty-two nursing homes and thirty hostels in northern Sydney, Australia, participated in the present study. Baseline weight and height were measured and BMI (kg/m 2 ) calculated. For 2 years following the baseline measurements, incidence and date of all falls and fractures were recorded by research nurses who visited the facilities regularly and date of death was documented based on the participants' records at each facility. Cox proportional hazards regression models were calculated to determine the relationship between baseline BMI and time to fall, fracture or death, within 2 years following the baseline measures taken to be the censoring date. After adjustments were made for age, sex and level of care, low BMI (,22 kg/m 2 ) increased the risk of fracture by 38 % (hazard ratio ¼ 1·38, 95 % CI 1·11, 1·73) and all-cause mortality by 52 % (hazard ratio ¼ 1·52, 95 % CI 1·30, 1·79). The magnitude of this effect was only slightly reduced when adjustments were further made to incorporate cognition, number of medications, falls and fracture in the subsequent 2-year period. In conclusion, BMI has predictive ability in the area of fracture and all-cause mortality for residents of aged care facilities. It is a simple and rapid indicator of nutritional status rendering it a useful nutrition screen and goal for nutrition intervention. Nutrition: Falls: Fracture: MortalityAgeing of the population is a global phenomenon. By the year 2050, it is predicted that the proportion of the population over the age of 60 years will double to 22 % (1)

Overall, patients with gout in the present study were not implementing evidence for dietary management of their condition and complex dietary issues were evident.