Dietary Intake of Antioxidants in the Elderly People under Nursing Care: A Case–Control Study

Nutrient deficiency such as antioxidants is a common problem in the elderly; itcan result in different diseases such as cancer. Accordingly, assessment of the dietary intake ofantioxidants is necessary to design a specific plan for solving this problem.

This case–control study was conducted on 152 old people (≥60 years) with and without nursing care innursing care centers in Isfahan, Iran, in 2017. Nutritional assessment was performed by an expertnutritionist using semi‑quantitative validated Food Frequency Questionnaire. Nutrition IV softwarewas used as food analyzer. Analysis of covariance and independent t‑test were used for data analysis.

The mean age of the participants was 68.6 ± 4.9 and 68.9 ± 6.1 years in case and controlgroups, respectively, and the percentage of male/females in these groups was 46.3%/53.7% and51.4%/48.6%, respectively. Dietary intake of energy, vitamin E, and selenium was significantlyhigher (P = 0.041; 0.007; 0.017) while beta‑carotene intake was significantly lower in the elderlyunder nursing care than in the control (P = 0.002).

The findings indicated that nursingcare leads to improved intake of energy, vitamin E, and selenium, while diminished beta‑caroteneintake in the elderly. Intake of vitamin E, A, C, zinc, and selenium was high among elderly peoplewith and without care, compared with the dietary reference intake. It seems that further studies arerequired to confirm these findings.