Effect of the liquid milk nutritional supplement with enhanced content of whey protein on the nutritional status of the elderly

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of long-term administration of liquid nutritional supplement with increased amounts of whey protein and reduced amounts of lactose, produced in accordance with a new recipe "Nutrisen" on the elderly living in institutionalized care. The study was carried out from May to July, 2013, on 47 retirement home residents, living in Prague, all of which were 65 years or older. Supplemented group (n = 23) consumed (200 ml) milk drinks with three different flavours on a daily basis for eight weeks. The reference group was on a normal diet. There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics between participants in both groups. Anthropometric and biochemical indicators of nutritional status and tolerance of the nutritional supplement during long-term use were evaluated. Both compliance (daily intake program) and tolerance of the nutritionally defined supplement were very good. For the supplemented group, there was an average weight increased of 700 grams after the 8 week nutritional supplement test period. Average levels of albumin and prealbumin increased significantly (from the beginning to the end of the program), 35.5 ± 4.52 g/l vs 36.19 ± 4.1 g/l and 0.160 ± 0.05 vs 0.174 ± 0.04 g/l (p < 0.05), vitamin D levels increased from 31.2 ± 16.4 nmol/l to 36.8 ± 17.7 nmol/l (p < 0.001) and HDL-cholesterol levels increased from 1.29 ± 0.33 mmol/l to 1.35 ± 0.35 mmol/l (p < 0.001). The specific nutritionally defined milk drink (Nutrisen), used in this study, was well tolerated by the elderly study participants, over the eight-week clinical study. We observed a positive effect on the participants weight, serum albumin, prealbumin, vitamin D and HDL-cholesterol.