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

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