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Effects of oral functional training for nutritional improvement in Japanese older people requiring long-term care.
- Source :
- Gerodontology; Jun2006, Vol. 23 Issue 2, p93-98, 6p, 3 Charts
- Publication Year :
- 2006
-
Abstract
- Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral functional training and nutrient supplements to improve the nutrition of malnourished elderly people in a nursing home. Background: Malnutrition is a frequent problem in the elderly requiring long-tem care; however, it is not clear whether oral functional training can be effective to improve nutrition. Subjects and methods: Fourteen subjects of 82 residents (mean age 85.7 ± 6.2 years) in a nursing home, who had a serum albumin level of ≤3.8 g/dl and understood the purpose of this study, were randomly divided into two groups of seven: one group served as the supplement group (mean age 87.0 ± 4.9 years) to which a high-calorie and high-protein diet was provided, and the other as the oral training plus supplement group (mean age 84.6 ± 10.1 years) to which oral functional training was given by a dental hygienist once a week as well as the above diet. Nutritional status was evaluated using serum biochemical values as indices at 4 months after the start of the intervention. Results: In the supplement group, serum albumin was 3.44 ± 0.36 g/dl at the start of the study (before intervention) and 3.24 ± 0.45 g/dl at 4 months after intervention. In the oral training plus supplement group, it was 3.56 ± 0.22 g/dl before intervention and significantly increased to 3.70 ± 0.33 g/dl after intervention ( p < 0.05: Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Conclusion: Nutritional supplements alone were not adequate, but with oral functional training to maintain and improve feeding function, nutritional improvement in the elderly could be observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 07340664
- Volume :
- 23
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Gerodontology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 20743539
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-2358.2006.00104.x