Dietary intakes and nutritional status of elderly patients. Study in a private nursing home
Justice, C.L.; Howe, J.M.; Clark, H.E.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association 65(6): 639-646
1974
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-8223 PMID: 4443525 Document Number: 77193
Food intakes of 12 men and 32 women aged 63 to 93 years and living in a private nursing home in Indiana were recorded for at least 5 non-successive days. Men got significantly more than women of energy, 1609 and 1388 kcal (P < 0.05), carbohydrate, 200 and 171 g, thiamin, 1.1 and 0.9 mg, and ascorbic acid, 127 and 97 mg. Although average daily protein intakes exceeded the 1974 USA recommended allowances (NAR 45, 2378) by about 10 g, 1/3 of the persons had individual average daily protein intakes below the allowance. Mean Ca intake was 0.7 g, and 57.1 of persons had under 0.8 g. Blood was sampled from 12 men and 31 women. Almost all the men had Hb below 14 g/100 ml and about half the women had below 12 g/100 ml. Mean haematocrit for all persons was 37.3 plus or minus 4.6%. Plasma ascorbic acid and folacin concentrations were generally within or above the normal range. Mean corpuscular volumes of the women were significantly greater (P < 0.01) than those of the men, 96.8 plus or minus 10.1 and 87.7 plus or minus 6.5 mu m3. Mean plasma cholesterol was of women 203 and of men 209 mg/100 ml, not significantly different. Bone density, estimated for 42 persons, differed significantly between sexes, being for women 0.57 plus or minus 0.18 and for men 1.00 plus or minus 0.17 g/cm2. Chronological age had no significant effect on any of the indices of nutritional status studied.