Original Paper

Effect of Micronutrient Supplementation on Infection in Institutionalized Elderly Subjects: A Controlled Trial
François Girodon^a,b, Marie Lombard^b, Pilar Galan^a, Patrick Brunet-Lecomte^c, Anne-Laure Monget^a, Josiane Arnaud^d, Paul Preziosi^a, Serge Hercberg<sup>a

a</sup>Institut Scientifique et Technique de la Nutrition et de Alimentation, Paris,
^bHôpital Gériatrique de Champmaillot, et
^cDépartement d'lnformatique Médicale, CHRU Dijon,
^dLaboratoire de Biochimie C, CHU Grenoble, France

Address of Corresponding Author

Ann Nutr Metab 1997;41:98-107 (DOI: 10.1159/000177984)

  Key Words

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• -Carotene
• Selenium
• Zinc
• Infection
• Elderly people

  Abstract

To determine the impact of a trace element and vitamin supplementation on infectious morbidity, a double-blind controlled trial was performed on 81 elderly subjects in a geriatric center during a 2-year period. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups, and received daily: placebo; trace elements /zinc 20 mg; selenium 100 µg); vitamins (vitamin C 120 mg; -carotene 6 mg; -tocopherol 15 mg); or a combination of trace elements and vitamins at equal doses. (1) Before supplementation, low serum values in vitamin C, folate, zinc and selenium were observed in more than two thirds of the patients. (2) After 6 months of supplementation, a significant increase in vitamin and trace element serum levels was obtained in the corresponding treatment groups: a plateau was then observed for the whole study. (3) Subjects who received trace elements (zinc and selenium) alone or associated with vitamins had significantly less infectious events during the 2 years of supplementation. These results indicate that supplementation with low doses of vitamins and trace elements is able to rapidly correct corresponding deficiencies in the institutionalized elderly. Moreover, zinc and selenium reduced infectious events.

Copyright © 1997 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

S. Hercberg, MD, PhD, ISTNA/CNAM, 2, rue Conté, F-75003 Paris (France), Tel. 33 1 40 27 24 74, Fax 33 1 40 27 01 53, E-Mail: hercberg@vcnam.cnam.fr

  Article Information

Received: August 16, 1996
Accepted: November 29, 1996
Published online: November 20, 2008
Number of Print Pages : 10