Plasma vitamin, beta-carotene, and alpha-tocopherol status according to age and disease in hospitalized elderly

The diseased elderly experience a protein-energy malnutrition. This study a ssessed the plasma retinol, beta -carotene,alpha -tocopherol, vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, C, folate, and biotin status of 668 hospitalized patients aged 70 or more, at their admission to hospital, in reference to 104 healthy el derly of the same age and from the same region. The diseased elderly had re duced plasma retinol,beta -carotene, and alpha- tocopherol compared to the healthy people. Reduced vitamins B1 and B12, folate, and biotin were observ ed in the patients with certain diseases. No difference was noted for vitam ins B2, B6, and C. Retinol,alpha -tocopherol, and vitamin B2 were negativel y related to age. The women had higher values for beta-carotene, alpha -toc opherol, vitamin B12, and folate, and lower values for vitamin B2 than the men. Many patients had a deficiency in retinol (52.9%), folate (50.2%), bio tin (38.9%), alpha-tocopherol (26.7%), vitamins B12 (20.8%), beta-carotene (17.0%). The differences between patient groups with various diseases were markedly smaller than those between all the patients and the healthy people for all indices except for vitamins B1, B2, B6, and C. We concluded that t he diseased elderly had reduced plasma vitamins, beta-carotene, and alpha-t ocopherol. Assessment of nutritional status, check up of daily food intake, and possibly prescribing multivitamin supplementation in parallel to medic al treatments would be beneficial. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.