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Nutrition in the age-related disablement process

  • JNHA: Nutrition
  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

The transition from independence to disability in older adults is characterized by detectable changes in body composition and physical function. Epidemiologic studies have shown that weight loss, reduced caloric intake and the reduced intake of specific nutrients are associated with such changes. The mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear, and different hypotheses have been suggested, including the reduction of the antioxidant effects of some nutrients. Changes in muscle mass and quality might play a central role in the pathway linking malnutrition, its biological and molecular consequences, and function. A different approach aims at assessing diets by dietary patterns, which capture intercorrdations of nutrients within a diet, rather than by selective foods or nutrients: epidemiologic evidence suggests that some types of diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, might prevent negative functional outcomes in older adults. However, despite a theoretical and empirical basis, intervention studies using nutritional supplementation have shown inconclusive results in preventing functional impairment and disability. The present work is the result of a review and consensus effort of a European task force on nutrition in the elderly, promoted by the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) European Region. After the critical review of different aspects related to the role of nutrition in the transition from independence to disability, we propose future lines for research, including the determination of levels of inadequacy and target doses of supplements, the study of interactions (between nutrients within a diet and with other lifestyle aspects), and the association with functional outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute on Aging of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Marco Inzitari & A. Salva

  2. Pere Virgili Hospital, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Marco Inzitari

  3. Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    E. Doets & L. De Groot

  4. Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

    B. Bartali

  5. Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece

    V. Benetou

  6. Department of Critical Care, Unit of Geriatric Cardiology, Careggi University Hospital and University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    M. Di Bari

  7. Institute of Health Sciences, VU University Amsterdam and at the EMGO Institute, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    M. Visser

  8. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Internal Medicine, Gerontology, and Geriatrics, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    S. Volpato

  9. Center of Preventive Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy

    G. Gambassi

  10. Department of Geriatrics, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    E. Topinkova

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  1. Marco Inzitari
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  2. E. Doets
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  3. B. Bartali
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  5. M. Di Bari
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  6. M. Visser
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  7. S. Volpato
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  8. G. Gambassi
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  10. L. De Groot
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  11. A. Salva
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For the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) Task Force for Nutrition in the Elderly

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Correspondence to Marco Inzitari.

Additional information

Task Force members are: Heike Bischoff-Ferrari (University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland), Małgorzata Schlegel-Zawadzka (Jagiellonian University, Poland), Morten Mowe (Aker University Hospital, Norway), Mauro Zamboni (University of Verona, Italy), Bruce Stuart (University of Maryland, USA), Juergen Bauer (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany), Tommy Cederholm (University of Uppsala, Sweden), Patrick Ritz (CHU Toulouse, France), Cornel Sieber (University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany), Antonia Trichopoulou (University of Athens Medical School, Greece).

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Inzitari, M., Doets, E., Bartali, B. et al. Nutrition in the age-related disablement process. J Nutr Health Aging 15, 599–604 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-011-0053-1

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