Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Short Communication
  • Published:

Determinants of fat-soluble vitamin status in patients aged 65 years and over

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 67, pages 1325–1327 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

In the elderly, malnutrition is highly prevalent and a major contributor to increased morbidity and mortality. We aimed to evaluate the fat-soluble vitamin status and potential determinants in patients >65 years of age. Serum vitamins A, D and E were determined by liquid chromatography in 166 patients. Gender, age, season, hospitalization, nutritional markers (albumin and cholesterol), acute-phase reactants (ferritin and C-reactive protein) and renal function (creatinine and glomerular filtrate) were assessed as potential determinants. Prevalence of vitamin deficiency was highly variable, ranging from 0 (vitamin E/cholesterol ratio) to 94% (for vitamin D in hospitalized patients). Vitamin status did not differ according to gender, but age, season, hospitalization, a poor nutritional status and impaired renal function, and the presence of acute-phase response significantly affected serum levels of vitamin A, E and D. In conclusion, in subjects >65 years both demographic and clinical factors determined the fat-soluble vitamin status.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bauer JM, Kaiser MJ, Sieber CC . Evaluation of nutritional status in older persons: nutritional screening and assessment. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2010; 13: 8–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lim SL, Ong KChB, Chan YH, Loke WCh, Ferguson M, Daniels L . Malnutrition and its impact on cost of hospitalization, length of stay, readmission and 3-year mortality. Clin Nutr 2012; 31: 345–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. White JV, Guenter P, Jensen G, Malone A, Schofield M, The Academy Malnutrition Work Group; the A.S.P.E.N. Malnutrition Task Force; and the A.S.P.E.N. Board of Directors. Consensus Statement: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition: characterisitics recommended for the identification and documentation of adult malnutrition (undernutrition). J Parent Enteral Nutr 2012; 36: 275–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ljungqvist O, de Man F . Under nutrition—a major health problem in Europe. Nutr Hosp 2009; 24: 368–370.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Fabian E, Bogner M, Kickinger A, Wagner K-H, Elmadfa I . Vitamin status in elderly people in relation to the use of nutritional supplements. J Nutr Health Aging 2012; 16: 206–212.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hausman DB, Fischer JG, Johnson M-A . Nutrition in centenarians. Maturitas 2011; 68: 203–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Álvarez-Hernández J, Planas Vila M, León-Sanz M, García de Lorenzo A, Celaya-Pérez S, García-Lorda P et al. On behalf of the PREDyCES researchers. Prevalence and costs of malnutrition in hospitalized patients; the PREDyCES® Study. Nutr Hosp 2012; 27: 1049–1059.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Granado-Lorencio F, Herrero-Barbudo C, Blanco-Navarro I, Pérez-Sacristán B . Suitability of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of fat-soluble nutritional status (vitamins A, E, D, and individual carotenoids. Anal Bioanal Chem 2010; 397: 1389–1393.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Marian M, Sacks G . Micronutrients and older adults. Nutr Clin Pract 2009; 24: 179–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Roman-Viñas B, Ribas Barba L, Ngo J, Gurinovic M, Novakovic R, Cavelaars A et al. Projected prevalence of inadequate nutrient intake in Europe. Ann Nutr Metab 2011; 59: 84–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Troesch B, Eggersdorfer M, Weber P . 100 years of vitamins: adequate intake in the elderly is still a matter of concern. J Nutr 2012; 142: 979–980.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The present study was performed as part of our clinical assistance to the patients and no other public or private sources of funding were used.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad de Vitaminas, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain

    F Granado-Lorencio, I Blanco-Navarro & B Pérez-Sacristán

  2. Servicio de Bioquímica Clínica, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain

    F Granado-Lorencio, I Blanco-Navarro, E Donoso-Navarro & R A Silvestre-Mardomingo

  3. Unidad de Bioestadística, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain

    I Millán

Authors
  1. F Granado-Lorencio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. I Blanco-Navarro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. B Pérez-Sacristán
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. I Millán
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. E Donoso-Navarro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. R A Silvestre-Mardomingo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to F Granado-Lorencio.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Granado-Lorencio, F., Blanco-Navarro, I., Pérez-Sacristán, B. et al. Determinants of fat-soluble vitamin status in patients aged 65 years and over. Eur J Clin Nutr 67, 1325–1327 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.198

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.198

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links