Multivitamin Supplementation May be Necessary in the Elderly

Reference:

"Ten-year trends in vitamin intake in free-living healthy elderly people: the risk of subclinical malnutrition," Toffanello ED, Inelmen EM, et al, J Nutr Health Aging, 2011; 15(2): 99-103. (Address: E.D. Toffanello, Clinica Geriatrica - Ospedale Giustinianeo (2 piano), via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padova, Italy. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Summary:

In a longitudinal study involving 78 (44 female, 34 male) free-living, elderly subjects between the ages of 70 and 75 years at baseline, after assessing intake of vitamins, the authors concluded that, "Multivitamin supplementation may be necessary, even in healthy individuals, to ensure an adequate micronutrient intake in the elderly." Data was collected at baseline and after 10 years. At baseline, intake of all vitamins except vitamin B1 were sufficient and exceeded the lowest European RDI. However, 10 years later, the prevalence of vitamin B2 and vitamin A deficiencies rose to 50% and vitamin C deficiency rose from 3% to 6% in men and 2.3% to 4.5% in women. The authors conclude, "...a considerable proportion of our successfully aging elderly were already deficient in, or at high risk of becoming deficient in several essential vitamins. Multivitamin supplementation may be necessary, even in healthy individuals, to ensure an adequate micronutrient intake in the elderly."