Elderly diabetes patients not meeting recommended micronutrient intake and are at risk of malnutrition

A recent study published in Clinical Nutrition ESPEN has highlighted that a very low proportion of older adults with a history of T2D meet the recommendations for ten micronutrients, including calcium, magnesium, potassium, selenium, riboflavin, vitamin D, E, and B6, folate, and niacin with an unsatisfactory Mediterranean diet adherence.

There needs to be more data on micronutrient intake in older adults with T2D and their adherence to the Mediterranean diet, a dietary pattern rich in micronutrients. In this cross-sectional study, researchers evaluated the prevalence of adequacy in micronutrient intake and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in T2D older adults in 138 patients, including 47 women and 91 men with T2D aged over 65 years.

Three 24-hour dietary recalls assessed dietary habits. Comparisons were made between micronutrient intake and dietary recommendations proposed by the Italian Society of Human Nutrition (LARN) and the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA). MEDI-quest score evaluated adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

The key results of this study are:

• 1 % of participants adhered to the recommendations for intake of potassium and vitamin D.
• A low proportion of participants adhered to the recommendations for calcium (∼23%), magnesium (16%), selenium (17%), vitamin E (14%), riboflavin (28%), vitamin B6(29%), folate (25%), and niacin (27%) intake.

• Over 60% of the population adhered to the recommendations for iron, copper, vitamin A and B12 intake.
• Only 53% showed high adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

They said our data indicate that a very low proportion of T2D adults meet the recommendations for ten micronutrients with an unsatisfactory adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

Implementing nutritional approaches and increasing the consumption of foods rich in micronutrients in older adults is imperative.

Study limitations include Cross-sectional design, small sample size, and single-centre study.

Further reading:

Massimino, E., Izzo, A., Castaldo, C., Amoroso, A. P., Rivellese, A. A., Capaldo, B., & Della Pepa, G. (2023). Dietary micronutrient adequacies and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in a population of older adults with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, 57, 337–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnesp.2023.07.011