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Geriatrics
Special Issues
The Nutritional Vulnerability in Older Persons
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The Nutritional Vulnerability in Older Persons

A special issue of Geriatrics (ISSN 2308-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Geriatric Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2020) | Viewed by 15785

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Virginia Boccardi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, 06132 Perugia, Italy
Interests: aging; geriatrics; nutrition; senescence; telomeres; telomerase; dementia; cognition; diabetes; metabolism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Populations are aging worldwide; thus, it is necessary to create prevention policies to facilitate healthy aging. Good nutrition is a key component of successful aging and plays a significant role in determining the well-being of older persons as well as in delaying and reducing the risk of many age-related diseases. However, aging itself is accompanied by many changes—including physiological and pathological changes, reduced physical exercise, and energy expenditure—that can make good nutrition more difficult. Malnutrition—defined as a state of nutrition in which a deficiency, excess or imbalance of energy, protein, and other nutrients causes measurable adverse effects on tissue and body function and clinical outcomes—can be considered as a geriatric syndrome with a multifactorial genesis and associated with many adverse effects. The term “nutritional vulnerability” can be better explained with the classic image of a home-bound elder, alone, with limited resources and affected by medical disabilities that preclude good nutrition. Thus, nutritional vulnerability contributes to many adverse outcomes which include increased risk of hospital admission, more medical complications, longer hospital stays, reduced mobility, muscle wasting, and increased likelihood of infection and nursing home admission. Nutritional vulnerability remains a significant and highly prevalent public health problem in old age subjects and in all clinical settings from community, hospital, and nursing homes.

This Special Issue welcomes the submission of manuscripts describing either commentaries, perspective, original research, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. 

Potential topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Anorexia of aging
  • Malnutrition in all clinical setting
  • Obesity
  • Dietary needs in older persons
  • The importance of nutritional vulnerability assessment
  • Determinants of malnutrition risk
  • Nutrition and healthy aging
  • Energy expenditure
  • Energy metabolism
  • Healthy diets
  • Malnutrition, sarcopenia, and frailty
  • Changes in body composition
  • Determinations of energy needs
  • Improving nutrition
  • Artificial nutrition
  • Nutrition and end-life concerns

Dr. Virginia Boccardi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geriatrics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Aging
  • Nutrition
  • Health
  • Frailty
  • Sarcopenia
  • Diets
  • Geriatric syndromes

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1864 KiB  
Article
Protein Intake, Protein Mealtime Distribution and Seafood Consumption in Elderly Norwegians: Associations with Physical Function and Strength
by Linda Kornstad Nygård, Lisbeth Dahl, Ingunn Mundal, Jūratė Šaltytė Benth and Anne Marie Mork Rokstad
Geriatrics 2020, 5(4), 100; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geriatrics5040100 - 03 Dec 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4474
Abstract
Protein intake is considered important in the maintenance of muscle health in ageing. However, both the source and mealtime distribution of protein might affect the intake of protein and its effect on muscle protein synthesis. In this study, protein intake, mealtime distribution of [...] Read more.
Protein intake is considered important in the maintenance of muscle health in ageing. However, both the source and mealtime distribution of protein might affect the intake of protein and its effect on muscle protein synthesis. In this study, protein intake, mealtime distribution of protein, and seafood consumption were assessed in 92 older adults (aged 65+), and associations with physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB)), grip strength and gait speed were assessed in a multiple linear regression analysis. The participants had a mean age of 73 ± 8.9 years. Mean protein intake was 1.1 g/kg body weight. Protein intake was well distributed, with coefficient of variance between meals (CV meals) 0.6 ± 0.3. However, dinner had the highest protein intake. No associations were found between the nutrition factors and physical performance or strength; however, this result might have been caused by a ceiling effect in the chosen test batteries, as the mean score on SPPB was 10.3 ± 2.7, and 48.9% of the participants reached the top score of 12 points. Mean grip strength was 44.4 ± 9.4 kg (men) and 26.2 ± 6.8 kg (women). Mean gait speed was 1.0 ± 0.3 m/s. The interaction analysis suggests that there might be gender differences in the effect of seafood consumption on gait speed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Nutritional Vulnerability in Older Persons)
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15 pages, 249 KiB  
Article
Food Habits of Older Australians Living Alone in the Australian Capital Territory
by Elizabeth Low, Jane Kellett, Rachel Bacon and Nenad Naumovski
Geriatrics 2020, 5(3), 55; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geriatrics5030055 - 18 Sep 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3219
Abstract
The link between adequate nutrition and quality of life for older persons is well established. With the proportion of older adults increasing, policy regarding support and care for the ageing has shifted emphasis to keeping older adults in their homes for as long [...] Read more.
The link between adequate nutrition and quality of life for older persons is well established. With the proportion of older adults increasing, policy regarding support and care for the ageing has shifted emphasis to keeping older adults in their homes for as long as possible. Risk of malnutrition is an issue of importance for this population and, while this risk is well researched within the hospital setting, it is still relatively under-researched within the community-dwelling elderly, particularly with respect to the lived experience. This qualitative study (underpinned by interpretative phenomenology philosophy) explores how the lived experiences of community-dwelling older people living in one-person households in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) influences dietary patterns, food choices and perceptions about food availability. Using purposeful and snowballing sampling, older people (65 years and over) living alone in the community participated in focus group discussions triangulated with their family/carers. Data were thematically analysed using a previously established approach. Participants (n = 22) were interviewed in three focus groups. Three themes were identified: active and meaningful community connectedness; eating well and behaviours to promote dietary resilience. Of these, community connectedness was pivotal in driving food patterns and choices and was a central component influencing behaviours to eating well and maintaining dietary resilience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Nutritional Vulnerability in Older Persons)

Review

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28 pages, 908 KiB  
Review
Nutrients and Pathways that Regulate Health Span and Life Span
by Carla Pignatti, Stefania D’Adamo, Claudio Stefanelli, Flavio Flamigni and Silvia Cetrullo
Geriatrics 2020, 5(4), 95; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geriatrics5040095 - 19 Nov 2020
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 7499
Abstract
Both life span and health span are influenced by genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. With the genetic influence on human life span estimated to be about 20–25%, epigenetic changes play an important role in modulating individual health status and aging. Thus, a main [...] Read more.
Both life span and health span are influenced by genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. With the genetic influence on human life span estimated to be about 20–25%, epigenetic changes play an important role in modulating individual health status and aging. Thus, a main part of life expectance and healthy aging is determined by dietary habits and nutritional factors. Excessive or restricted food consumption have direct effects on health status. Moreover, some dietary interventions including a reduced intake of dietary calories without malnutrition, or a restriction of specific dietary component may promote health benefits and decrease the incidence of aging-related comorbidities, thus representing intriguing potential approaches to improve healthy aging. However, the relationship between nutrition, health and aging is still not fully understood as well as the mechanisms by which nutrients and nutritional status may affect health span and longevity in model organisms. The broad effect of different nutritional conditions on health span and longevity occurs through multiple mechanisms that involve evolutionary conserved nutrient-sensing pathways in tissues and organs. These pathways interacting each other include the evolutionary conserved key regulators mammalian target of rapamycin, AMP-activated protein kinase, insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 pathway and sirtuins. In this review we provide a summary of the main molecular mechanisms by which different nutritional conditions, i.e., specific nutrient abundance or restriction, may affect health span and life span. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Nutritional Vulnerability in Older Persons)
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