[An intervention trial to postpone aging in competent elderly. Trial of nutritional improvement in the retirement home]

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive intervention program in changing dietary habits and nutritional status, for postponing aging in competent elderly. The intervention group (n = 44, 11 men, 33 women, mean age: 74.3 +/- 5.4 years) comprised residents of a retirement home in a suburb of Tokyo. The intervention program, which consisted of 82 lectures and practice sessions focusing mainly on improvement of life styles, was performed between May 1993 and May 1995. In addition, individualized dietary consultations were provided every week during the intervention period. The age and sex matched control group (n = 133, 33 men, 100 women) was randomly selected from participants of the community-based health examination in Tokyo. Changes in dietary habits were measured by a 15-food frequency questionnaire method. As parameters of nutritional status, serum albumin (ALB), total cholesterol (TC), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) and body mass index (BMI) were simultaneously examined at pre- and post-intervention. The results obtained were as follows: 1) The mean score of Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence (TMIG Index of Competence) was 11.3 +/- 1.6 in the intervention group, 12.0 +/- 1.6 in the control group, the competent level of functional capacity was equally high in both groups. 2) Food frequencies of meat, fruit, and fat and oil significantly increased in the intervention group. A significant increase in the food frequency of meat was seen in the control group. 3) Significant increases in ALB, HDL-C and BMI were consequently observed in the intervention group, whereas levels of ALB and BMI significantly decreased in the control group. 4) The number of times of participation in the comprehensive intervention program was significantly positively related to the change in ALB between pre- and post-intervention, after adjusted for age, sex, education, TMIG Index of Competence score and ALB level at baseline. These results indicate that the comprehensive intervention program is effective for postponing aging in the competent elderly.