Recent interventional studies have shown that frailty can be improved by modifying dietary quality. In this study, a set of nutrition-centric health promotion activities was developed in accordance with the Taiwanese Daily Food Guide for elderly participants of the community centers to improve their nutrition in everyday practice and examined the efficacy of these activities on slowing down the development or regression of frailty. The study was a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Recruited community centers were randomly assigned into either the control or the intervention group. The intervention period lasted for 3 months. Both the control and intervention groups received weekly one-hour group exercise training. The intervention group had an additional weekly one-hour group nutrition session. The intervention programs included: (a) training on-site staffs to use motivational interview techniques to communicate, to estimate participant's energy requirements, and to learn how to provide proper amounts of foods to individual elderlies, (b) nutrition grouped activities on ①know my plate, ②wholegrains, ③drinking teas with dairy, and nuts, ④novel ways to eat fruit and vegetables, ⑤healthy breakfast ideas. In the first month, participants were intervened with the activities laid out above; in the second month, participants were intervened with qualitative discussions on dietary changes; in the third month, participants were intervened with designed activities that helped break down barriers in order to establish a long-term change in dietary habits. Improvement in nutritional status was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included frailty scores, physical performance, and mental health. The measurements were performed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
219
The group exercise training was held in each community center. The group exercise training contained aerobic exercise, complex physical fitness exercise, muscle training, and balance and coordination training.
The intervention programs included: (a) training on-site staffs to use motivational interview techniques to communicate, to estimate participant's energy requirements, and to learn how to provide proper amounts of foods to individual elderlies, (b) nutrition grouped activities on ①know my plate, ②wholegrains, ③ drinking teas with dairy, and nuts, ④novel ways to eat fruit and vegetables, ⑤healthy breakfast ideas. In the first month, participants were intervened with the activities laid out above; in the second month, participants were intervened with qualitative discussion on elders' dietary changes; in the third month, participants were intervened with designed activities that helped break down barriers in order to establish a long-term change in dietary habits.
Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica
Taipei, Taiwan
Change from baseline in intake frequency (portion per day) on the six food groups at months 3 and 6.
The six food groups include: 1. Whole grains and starchy vegetables 2. Protein foods: soy beans, fish, eggs, and meat 3. Vegetables 4. Fruits 5. Dairy 6. Oils, nuts and seeds
Time frame: Baseline, Month 3 and Month 6
Change from baseline in the ratios of concentration on urinary nutritional biomarkers at months 3 and 6.
The concentrations of the following urinary nutritional biomarkers were determined: urinary urea nitrogen (mg/dL), urinary calcium (mg/dl), urinary potassium (mmol/L), urinary magnesium (mg/dL), and urinary creatinine (mg/dL). The urinary urea nitrogen to creatinine ratios, urinary calcium to creatinine ratios, urinary potassium to creatinine ratios, and urinary magnesium to creatinine ratios was estimated at baseline, moths 3 and 6.
Time frame: Baseline, Month 3 and Month 6
Change from baseline in frailty status at months 3 and 6.
Frailty status was defined using modified Linda Fried criteria with cutoff points from the investigators' previous intervention studies. Five frail phenotypes were assigned: (1) unintentional weight loss, (2) self-reported exhaustion, (3) weak grip strength, (4) slow gait speed, and (5) low level of physical activity. To estimate frailty, participants scored 1 point from each phenotype if any of these were satisfied; a maximum score of five was possible. Participants were classified by their point scores as follows: 'robust' for 0 point; 'pre-frail' for 1 or 2 points; and 'frail' for ≥3.
Time frame: Baseline, Month 3 and Month 6
Change from baseline in the score of digit span at months 3 and 6.
A digit span task is used to measure working memory's number storage capacity. Subjects are read a sequence of numbers and asked to repeat the same sequence back to the examiner in order (forward span) or in reverse order (backward span). The score is the length of the longest correctly repeated sequence. The maximum number of digits in a sequence is 9 and the minimum number of digits in a sequence is 2. The higher scores mean a better outcome.
Time frame: Baseline, Month 3 and Month 6
Change from baseline in the scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale at months 3 and 6.
The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) is a self-report measure of depression in older adults. Scores of 0-4 are considered normal, depending on age, education, and complaints; 5-8 indicate mild depression; 9-11 indicate moderate depression; and 12-15 indicate severe depression.
Time frame: Baseline, Month 3 and Month 6
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