Vnitr Lek 2014, 60(7-8):556-561

Effect of the liquid milk nutritional supplement with enhanced content of whey protein on the nutritional status of the elderly

Jolana Rambousková^1,*, Bohumír Procházka², Michael Binder³, Michal Anděl¹

¹ Ústav výživy 3. LF UK Praha, přednosta prof. MUDr. Michal Anděl, CSc.

² Oddělení biostatistiky a informatiky SZÚ Praha, vedoucí RNDr. Bohumír Procházka, CSc.

³ Výzkumný ústav mlékárenský, s.r.o., Praha, ředitel Ing. Petr Roubal, CSc.

Aim:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of long-term administration of liquid nutritional supplement with increased amounts of whey protein and reduced amounts of lactose, produced in accordance with a new recipe "Nutrisen" on the elderly living in institutionalized care.

Methods:
The study was carried out from May to July, 2013, on 47 retirement home residents, living in Prague, all of which were 65 years or older. Supplemented group (n = 23) consumed (200 ml) milk drinks with three different flavours on a daily basis for eight weeks. The reference group was on a normal diet. There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics between participants in both groups. Anthropometric and biochemical indicators of nutritional status and tolerance of the nutritional supplement during long-term use were evaluated.

Results:
Both compliance (daily intake program) and tolerance of the nutritionally defined supplement were very good. For the supplemented group, there was an average weight increased of 700 grams after the 8 week nutritional supplement test period. Average levels of albumin and prealbumin increased significantly (from the beginning to the end of the program), 35.5 ± 4.52 g/l vs 36.19 ± 4.1 g/l and 0.160 ± 0.05 vs 0.174 ± 0.04 g/l (p < 0.05), vitamin D levels increased from 31.2 ± 16.4 nmol/l to 36.8 ± 17.7 nmol/l (p < 0.001) and HDL-cholesterol levels increased from 1.29 ± 0.33 mmol/l to 1.35 ± 0.35 mmol/l (p < 0.001).

Conclusion:
The specific nutritionally defined milk drink (Nutrisen), used in this study, was well tolerated by the elderly study participants, over the eight-week clinical study. We observed a positive effect on the participant's weight, serum albumin, prealbumin, vitamin D and HDL-cholesterol.

Keywords: elderly; malnutrition; nutritional status; supplementation; vitamin D

Received: February 7, 2014; Accepted: March 24, 2014; Published: July 1, 2014  Show citation