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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Effectiveness of nutritional supplements on cognitive functioning in elderly persons
— a systematic review | | Author(s) | Marleen Manders, Lisette C P G M de Groot, Wija A van Staveren |
| Journal title | Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, vol 59A, no 10, October 2004 |
| Pages | pp 1041-1049 |
| Source | http://www.geron.org |
| Keywords | Nutrition ; Vitamins ; Cognitive processes ; Clinical surveys ; Literature reviews. |
| Annotation | The authors systematically reviewed randomised controlled tests that compared nutritional supplementation with a placebo treatment. Trials were identified from a MEDLINE search and from reference lists of identified studies and review articles. From each trial, information was gathered on the number and ages of those studied, the type, dosage and duration of the intervention, and the assessed outcome measures. From 1086 titles originally identified, only 21 were proper randomised controlled tests. These trails are discussed in three groups according to type of supplementation: malnutrition intervention or single components with or without a putative mechanism. 12 studies, evenly distributed among the three supplement groups, found significantly positive effects of nutritional intervention on cognitive functioning, whereas nine studies did not. None of the studies found a significantly negative effect of nutritional intervention. Shortcomings in methodology varying from the duration of intervention to outcome measures partly explain discrepancies in findings. Despite the heterogeneity in trial design, the results of the review suggest that nutritional supplements may improve the cognitive functioning of older people and do no harm. Further well-designed studies are needed to support these findings. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-050215212 A |
| Classmark | CF: CFE: DA: 3G: 64A |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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