The effect of dose, frequency, and timing of protein supplementation on muscle mass in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Protein supplementation has shown to improve muscle mass in older adults. However, its effect may be influenced by supplementation dose, frequency and timing. This systematic review aimed to assess the effect of dose, frequency and timing of protein supplementation on muscle mass in older adults. Five databases were systematically searched from inception to 14 March 2023, for randomised controlled trials investigating the effect of protein supplementation on muscle mass in adults aged ≥65 years. Random effects meta-analyses were performed, stratified by population. Subgroups were created for dose (≥30 g, <30 g/day), frequency (once, twice, three times/day) and timing of supplementation (at breakfast, breakfast and lunch, breakfast and dinner, all meals, between meals). Heterogeneity within and between subgroups was assessed using I2 and Cochran Q statistics respectively. Thirty-eight articles were included describing community-dwelling (28 articles, n=3204, 74.6±3.4 years, 62.8 % female), hospitalised (8 articles, n=590, 77.0±3.7 years, 50.3 % female) and institutionalised populations (2 articles, n=156, 85.7±1.2 years, 71.2 % female). Protein supplementation showed a positive effect on muscle mass in community-dwelling older adults (standardised mean difference 0.116; 95 % confidence interval 0.032-0.200 kg, p=0.007, I2=15.3 %) but the effect did not differ between subgroups of dose, frequency and timing (Q=0.056, 0.569 and 3.084 respectively, p>0.05). Data including hospitalised and institutionalised populations were limited. Protein supplementation improves muscle mass in community-dwelling older adults, but its dose, frequency or timing does not significantly influence the effect.

Body Weight and Composition Changes in Geriatric Rehabilitation Are Dependent on Sarcopenia and Malnutrition: RESORT.

OBJECTIVES: Body weight and muscle mass loss following an acute hospitalization in older patients may be influenced by malnutrition and sarcopenia among other factors. This study aimed to assess the changes in body weight and composition from admission to discharge and the geriatric variables associated with the changes in geriatric rehabilitation inpatients. DESIGN: RESORT is an observational, longitudinal cohort. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Geriatric rehabilitation inpatients admitted to geriatric rehabilitation wards at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia (N = 1006). METHODS: Changes in body weight and body composition [fat mass (FM), appendicular lean mass (ALM)] from admission to discharge were analyzed using linear mixed models. Body mass index (BMI) categories, (risk of) malnutrition (Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition), sarcopenia (European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People), dependence in activities of daily living (ADL), multimorbidity, and cognitive impairment were tested as geriatric variables by which the changes in body weight and composition may differ. RESULTS: A total of 1006 patients [median age: 83.2 (77.7-88.8) years, 58.5% female] were included. Body weight, FM (kg), and FM% decreased (0.30 kg, 0.43 kg, and 0.46%, respectively) and ALM (kg) and ALM% increased (0.17 kg and 0.33%, respectively) during geriatric rehabilitation. Body weight increased in patients with underweight; decreased in patients with normal/overweight, obesity, ADL dependence and in those without malnutrition and sarcopenia. ALM% and FM% decreased in patients with normal/overweight. ALM increased in patients without multimorbidity and in those with malnutrition and sarcopenia; ALM% increased in patients without multimorbidity and with sarcopenia. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: In geriatric rehabilitation, body weight increased in patients with underweight but decreased in patients with normal/overweight and obesity. ALM increased in patients with malnutrition and sarcopenia but not in patients without. This suggests the need for improved standard of care independent of patients' nutritional risk.

Malnutrition is associated with poor trajectories of activities of daily living in geriatric rehabilitation inpatients: RESORT.

Malnutrition is associated with poor functional performance in geriatric rehabilitation inpatients. However, it is unclear if malnourished patients have poor functional trajectories over time. This study aimed to determine the association between (the risk of) malnutrition at admission and trajectories of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental ADL (IADL) from pre-admission to post-discharge in geriatric rehabilitation inpatients. An observational, longitudinal study was conducted in the REStORing health of acutely unwell adulTs (RESORT) cohort of geriatric rehabilitation inpatients. A total of 618 patients (mean age 82.1 ± 7.8 years, 57.4 % females) were included. The prevalence of the risk of malnutrition, by Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) was 41.3 % (n = 255) and malnutrition by the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) criteria were 53.5 % (n = 331) and 13.1 % (n = 81) respectively. Malnutrition by the GLIM criteria but not the ESPEN criteria nor the risk of malnutrition, was associated with ADL trajectories of 'remained poor' (OR: 3.33, 95 %CI: 1.21-9.19) and 'deteriorated' (OR: 1.68, 95 %CI: 1.13-2.52) compared to the 'recovered' trajectory. The risk of malnutrition and malnutrition were not associated with IADL trajectories. Malnutrition at admission was associated with poor ADL trajectories but not IADL trajectories in geriatric rehabilitation inpatients.

Agreement between the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool and the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment for Cancer Outpatients Receiving Chemotherapy: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Malnutrition is a common occurrence in cancer. Early detection of malnutrition is imperative but often overlooked in busy clinical routine. This study aimed to assess the agreement between malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST) and the patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) to detect risk of malnutrition in a medical oncology outpatient setting. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 100 adult patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy. Nutrition screening and assessment were performed using MUST and PG-SGA, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, kappa agreement, and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve were used to compare MUST with PG-SGA. Prevalence of malnutrition or risk of malnutrition among subjects was 45% according to the MUST. Body mass index (BMI) against PG-SGA indicated a low capacity to detect malnutrition with 28.9% sensitivity and 96.4% specificity. Unintentional weight loss in the last 3-6 mo against PG-SGA resulted in 55.6% sensitivity and 98.2% specificity. MUST against PG-SGA resulted in 86.7% sensitivity and 94.5% specificity. MUST indicated a perfect agreement with PG-SGA (Kappa = 0.81; P < 0.05) and highest area under the ROC curve (AUC ROC = 0.91). MUST has high level of agreement with PG-SGA to detect chemotherapy outpatients at risk of malnutrition.