Introduction
Sarcopenia is an age-related condition associated with greater risk of falls, poor health outcomes, deteriorated quality of life as well as greater mortality.1 However, sarcopenia can be prevented and even reversed through nutritional and exercise-based strategies. More specifically, protein-rich diets have shown to delay the loss of muscle mass.2 In line, sarcopenic patients were shown to benefit most from a protein-rich oral nutritional supplements (ONS) when it is combined with an exercise intervention.3
Objectives
To assess how often protein-rich ONS (Moltein®Plus) is prescribed in combination with physiotherapy or a physical exercise program.
Methods
A questionnaire was used by staff of different homecare providers to interrogate ONS users about the occurrence of physiotherapy or prescribed physical exercise along with ONS consumption. Subjective feeling of improvements in mobility, general well-being compared to before ONS prescription, and quality of life were also assessed.
Results
From 32 interrogated patients (age: 70.7 y ± 16.3 SD; 1:1 male/female), 5 reported physical exercise being prescribed and 7 denied such prescription. Mobility improved in 40 % of patients with physical exercise prescription and in 57.1 % of patients without. Regardless of physical exercise prescription, improvements in mobility were reported by 53.8 % of all patients. 77.7 % of patients who indicated a betterment in quality of life also felt an improvement in mobility. All patients reporting improved general well-being compared to before ONS prescription also felt improved quality of life.
Conclusion
Only a very small number of ONS prescriptions are accompanied by a physical exercise program, despite the known synergy between nutrition and exercise. The ONS may improve general well-being which is associated with increased quality of life. Improvements in mobility were reported by about half of the patients and were often accompanied by improved quality of life. In contrast, perceived mobility did not improve in patients with prescribed physical exercise. However, the small sample size must be considered. Future studies should assess if exercise has the potential to improve mobility to greater extent than ONS consumption alone in elderly homecare recipients in Switzerland.
References
1 Cruz-Jentoft (2010) ‘Sarcopenia: European consensus on definition and diagnosis Report of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People’, Age and ageing. . DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afq034
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2 Houston (2008) ‘Dietary protein intake is associated with lean mass change in older, community-dwelling adults: the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study’, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition . DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/87.1.150
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3 Kim (2012) ‘Effects of Exercise and Amino Acid Supplementation on Body Composition and Physical Function in Community-Dwelling Elderly Japanese Sarcopenic Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society . DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03776.x
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Publikationsverlauf
Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. Juni 2021
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