Effect of Micronutrient Supplementation on Infection in Institutionalized Elderly Subjects: A Controlled Trial

Abstract

To determine the impact of a trace element and vitamin supplementation on infectious morbidity, a double-blind controlled trial was performed on 81 elderly subjects in a geriatric center during a 2-year period. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups, and received daily: placebo; trace elements /zinc 20 mg; selenium 100 µg); vitamins (vitamin C 120 mg; β-carotene 6 mg; α-tocopherol 15 mg); or a combination of trace elements and vitamins at equal doses. (1) Before supplementation, low serum values in vitamin C, folate, zinc and selenium were observed in more than two thirds of the patients. (2) After 6 months of supplementation, a significant increase in vitamin and trace element serum levels was obtained in the corresponding treatment groups: a plateau was then observed for the whole study. (3) Subjects who received trace elements (zinc and selenium) alone or associated with vitamins had significantly less infectious events during the 2 years of supplementation. These results indicate that supplementation with low doses of vitamins and trace elements is able to rapidly correct corresponding deficiencies in the institutionalized elderly. Moreover, zinc and selenium reduced infectious events.

Effect of Micronutrient Supplementation on Mood in Nursing Home Residents

“…Deficiencies in zinc, selenium and vitamin C, have been found in older hospitalised individuals [11,12] . In a UK study, 40% of older people living in institutions were reported to be deficient in folate, riboflavin and vitamin C [13,14] .…”

Antibiotic Resistance in Nursing Homes

“…Over 50% of nursing home residents have reported to suffer from protein caloric malnutrition (Nakamura H & Al, 2006;Ordòňez J & Al, 2010). Vitamin, zinc and micronutrients deficiencies are also reported (Mandal SK & Ray AK, 1987;Girodon F & Al, 1997;Bates CJ & Al, 1999a;1999b;Gosney MA & Al, 2008). The reasons for this high frequency of malnutrition might be comorbidities (Bostrőm AM & Al, 2011;Shahin ES & Al, 2010), feeding difficulties (Hildebrandt GH & Al, 1997;Lamy M & Al, 1999;Lelovics Z, 2009;Chang CC & Roberts BL, 2011), impaired cognition (Blandford G & Al, 1998;Magri et Al, 2003;Bartholomeyczik S & Al, 2010;Bostrőm AM & Al, 2011), bacterial overgrowth of the small bowel (e.g.…”

Zur klinischen Bedeutung von Selen: Ein systematischer Review

“…Die Autoren berichteten auch über eine etwas raschere Normalisierung der Schilddrüsenfunktion [74]. In einer anderen Studie senkte eine Tagesdosis von 100 µg Selen und 20 mg Zink die Infektionsrate bei älteren Patienten signifikant [75].…”

“…In einer doppelblinden Cross-OverStudie aus dem Jahr 1999 wurden ebenfalls verschiedene Kombinationspräparate geprüft [76]. Die ca.…”