Vitamin Profiles in Elderly Persons Living at Home or in Nursing Homes, versus Profile in Healthy Young Subjects

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The vitamin profile of 473 elderly persons was compared with that of 204 healthy volunteers (controls). Of the 473 elderly, 327 (mean age 87) lived in nursing homes, and 146 (mean age 77) lived at home. The 204 controls were in the 20–50 year age group. The circulating levels of biotin, pantothenate, riboflavin, vitamins A, B 6 , B 12 , C, E, folate, thiamine, nicotinate, and carotenes were determined in all groups. Hypovitaminemia was not obvious for biotin, pantothenate, riboflavin, vitamins A, E, and carotenes in either the institutional or non‐institutional elderly. Thiamine, vitamin C and vitamin B 12 levels were strikingly depressed in the non‐institutional elderly as compared with the institutional population or the controls. Over 30 percent of the institutional elderly had vitamin B 6 and nicotinate hypovitaminemia compared to the controls. Both the institutional and the non‐institutional elderly showed depressed levels of folate and vitamin B 12 . Vitamin supplementation reduced the percentage of folate and B 12 deficits. The marked vitamin deficits in the institutional population, in descending order of incidence were: vitamin B 6 , nicotinate, vitamin B 12 , folate, thiamine, and ascorbate, whereas the pattern for the non‐institutional elderly was: vitamin B 12 , thiamine, ascorbate, vitamin B 6 , nicotinate, and folate. In the 473 elderly studied, vitamin B 6 , nicotinate, and vitamin B 12 , in that order, were the most common deficits; folate, thiamine and ascorbate deficits comprised a lesser percentage. The role of vitamin deficits and the effects upon the aging population are discussed.