Effects of oral functional training for nutritional improvement in Japanese older people requiring long-term care.

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+or-6.2 years) in a nursing home, who had a serum albumin level of <or=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.