NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTS MAY BOOST IMMUNE RESPONSE IN THE ELDERLY

Home>
Specialties>
General Medicine>
Summary and Comment

NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTS MAY BOOST IMMUNE RESPONSE IN THE ELDERLY.

Immune response appears to decline with age, and nutritional deficiency may contribute to the decline. This double-blind, randomized trial tested whether vitamin and trace-element supplementation improves immunity in the elderly.

Researchers randomized 96 healthy people older than 65 to receive either a daily supplement of 18 vitamins and trace elements (approximating the US recommended daily allowances) or placebo. Baseline comparison of blood nutrient levels showed that both treatment groups included a small number of subjects with nutrient deficiencies (range, 0 to 22 percent, depending on the nutrient). The most frequent deficiencies were vitamin C and B6, zinc, iron, and beta-carotene. After 12 months of nutrient supplementation, most deficiencies resolved. The supplement group also had significant increases in several immunologic responses, including the number of some T-cell subsets, interleukin-2 production and receptor release, and natural killer cell activity, and had significantly fewer infection-related sick days than the placebo group (mean, 23 vs. 48, respectively).

These results must be viewed with caution, given the relatively small sample size and the lack of detailed data on the types of infections prevented. However, the findings are sufficiently provocative to warrant further study.

— ASB

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine November 20, 1992

Citation(s):

Chandra RK. Effect of vitamin and trace-element supplementation on immune responses and infection in elderly subjects. Lancet 1992 Nov 7 340 1124-1127.