Immunological and nutritional factors in elderly people in low-level care and their association with mortality

Immunity & Ageing

Table 1 Characteristics of the elderly study population (mean ± SD)

	Women (n = 64)			Men (n = 24)
		% below	% above		% below	% above
		Reference^d			Reference^d
Age (years)	85.9 ± 5.3			86.3 ± 7.5
Medical conditions^a	5.0 ± 2.2			5.4 ± 2.3
Medications^b	9.2 ± 4.4			9.5 ± 4.8
Died (%)	16			42**
Survival (weeks) ^c	132.6 ± 3.3			109.0 ± 9.1 **
*Selected dietary intake parameters per day*
Energy (kJ)	6187 ± 1158	70		7887 ± 1573***	50
Protein (g)	53.1 ± 10.9	21		69.7 ± 17.1***	41
(% E)	14.7 ± 2.1			15.1 ± 2.6
Fat (g)	58.4 ± 14.1			72.9 ± 15.5***
(% E)	34.7 ± 3.5			34.3 ± 3.1
Monounsaturated fat (g)	19.5 ± 4.7			24.3 ± 5.4***
Polyunsaturated fat (g)	9.2 ± 2.8			10.2 ± 3.1
Saturated fat (g)	25.0 ± 7.2			32.3 ± 8.9***
Total retinol (μg)	1094 ± 320	1.8	59	1283 ± 335*	4.5	46
Folate (ug)	197 ± 60	96		258 ± 58***	86
Vitamin C (mg)	122 ± 56		32	124 ± 42		41
Iron (mg)	8.1 ± 1.8	9		10.2 ± 2.7**
Zinc (mg)	6.5 ± 1.3	52		8.6 ± 2.2***	91^**
Magnesium (mg)	201 ± 41	96		260 ± 75***	86
*Selected body composition parameters*
BMI (kg/m²)	26.6 ± 4.4	3.3	20	25.9 ± 3.4	4.3	13
Body fat (%)	37.8 ± 7.9			26.1 ± 5.8***
SMI%	25.2 ± 3.7	41		32.0 ± 2.6***	45
% with weight loss	59.6			56.3
*Selected biochemical parameters*
Albumin (g/L)	39.2 ± 3.4	8		38.1 ± 3.8	22
Haemoglobin (g/L)	126 ± 12	8		131 ± 18	38^**
IL-6 (pg/mL)	4.15 ± 2.4		1.8	6.17 ± 33.6**		9.5
CRP (mg/L)	3.0 ± 2.5		40	8.7 ± 10.0*		67*

*P < 0.05, ** P ≤ 0.01, *** P < 0.001.
^aNumber of medical conditions present from those listed under Methods.
^bNumber of medications taken over the longer term. Medications for a temporary acute condition are not included.
^cUntil death. Data presented as mean ± standard error for this variable only.
^dFor dietary intake this is the % with intake below the estimated average requirement (EAR) for Australians or % above the recommended dietary intake (RDI) for Australians [45]; for BMI this is below 20 (kg/m²) and above 30 (kg/m²); for SMI% this is below 23.8% for women [44] and below 31.5% for men (unpublished but based on young male dataset as per [44]); for albumin this is the reference range provided by Network Pathology; for haemoglobin, CRP and IL-6 this is the reference range provided by Southern Cross Pathology.
Abbreviations: BMI body mass index, CRP C-reactive protein, IL-6 Interleukin 6, SMI (%) Percentage skeletal muscle, % E percentage of total energy.

ISSN: 1742-4933