Schiffman S S, Sattely-Miller E A, Taylor E L, Graham B G, Landerman L R, Zervakis J, Campagna L K, Cohen H J, Blackwell S, Garst J L
Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
J Nutr Health Aging. 2007 Sep-Oct;11(5):439-54.
Abnormalities in taste and smell functioning occur with elevated frequency in both older adults and patients with cancer. With the predicted increase in both of these populations in the coming decades, it is imperative to evaluate potential interventions that are designed to help older cancer patients compensate for the additive burden of this disease and its treatment on age-related taste and smell losses.
The purpose of the current study was to determine if providing instruction and products for flavor enhancement of foods to elderly cancer patients in addition to nutritional information would improve their nutritional status, and, by extension, functional and immune status as well as quality of life.
One hundred and seven subjects enrolled in the study. Fifty-four subjects were in the experimental group that received flavor enhancement plus nutritional information; fifty-three control subjects received only nutritional information. Subjects were evaluated 1 month, 3 months, and 8 months after beginning chemotherapy. At every session, subjects completed taste and smell assessments as well as questionnaires related to nutritional status, activities of daily living, and quality of life. Blood samples were also obtained to determine immune parameters.
At the eight-month time point, experimental subjects had better scores on the mini nutritional assessment (MNA) and the physical function assessment of the quality of life questionnaire. Also at eight months, self-reported taste and smell perception for experimental subjects was better than that of controls as well as better than at earlier time points. Tests that assessed quantity and quality of food intake, as well as a number of immune parameters declined over time and did not differ significantly between groups.
The combination of flavor enhancement, chemosensory education, and nutritional information for elderly cancer patients improved their nutritional assessment on the MNA and physical function over time. On the whole, experimental subjects perceived themselves to be better functioning at eight months than did their control counterparts.
味觉和嗅觉功能异常在老年人和癌症患者中出现的频率较高。鉴于预计在未来几十年这两类人群的数量都会增加，评估旨在帮助老年癌症患者应对该疾病及其治疗对与年龄相关的味觉和嗅觉丧失所产生的叠加负担的潜在干预措施势在必行。
本研究的目的是确定除了营养信息之外，为老年癌症患者提供食物风味增强的指导和产品是否会改善他们的营养状况，进而改善其功能和免疫状况以及生活质量。
107名受试者参与了该研究。54名受试者在实验组，接受风味增强和营养信息；53名对照受试者仅接受营养信息。在开始化疗后的1个月、3个月和8个月对受试者进行评估。在每次评估时，受试者完成味觉和嗅觉评估以及与营养状况、日常生活活动和生活质量相关的问卷调查。还采集了血样以确定免疫参数。
在八个月的时间点，实验组受试者在简易营养评估（MNA）和生活质量问卷的身体功能评估方面得分更高。同样在八个月时，实验组受试者自我报告的味觉和嗅觉感知优于对照组，也优于早期时间点。评估食物摄入量和质量的测试以及一些免疫参数随时间下降，且两组之间无显著差异。
为老年癌症患者提供风味增强、化学感觉教育和营养信息的组合，随着时间的推移改善了他们在MNA上的营养评估和身体功能。总体而言，实验组受试者在八个月时感觉自己的功能比对照组受试者更好。
