Contemporary nutrition-based interventions to reduce risk of infection among elderly long-term care residents: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Elderly long-term care residents (ELTCRs) face considerable burden of infection, especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. The nutritional status of the host can influence susceptibility to infection by altering immune system integrity, therefore, nutrition-based interventions may be a viable complement to existing infection prevention measures. OBJECTIVE: This scoping review sought to identify nutritional interventions and factors that have the strongest evidence to benefit ELTCRs, and thus best poised for rigorous clinical trial evaluation and subsequent implementation. METHODS: A database search of OVID-Medline, OVID-Embase, and Web of Science was performed from 2011 to 2021 to identify nutritional intervention studies which attribute to changes in infection in contemporary ELTCR settings. Articles were screened in duplicate and data extraction completed by a single reviewer, while a second reviewer verified the data which was fitted to identify evidence for nutritional interventions related to reducing rates of infection among ELTCRs. RESULTS: The search identified 1018 studies, of which 11 (nine clinical trials and two observational cohort studies) satisfied screening criteria. Interventions that significantly reduced risk of infection included whey protein (any infection), Black Chokeberry (urinary tract infection), and vitamin D (acute respiratory tract infection, skin and soft tissue infection). Both zinc and a dedicated meal-plan significantly improved lymphocyte parameters. Vitamin D deficiency was associated with the development of respiratory tract infections. Probiotic and soy-based protein interventions did not significantly affect risk of infection or lymphocyte parameters, respectively. CONCLUSION: The current scoping review was effective in identifying the use of nutrition-based interventions for infection prevention among ELTCRs. In this study, some nutrition-based interventions were observed to significantly influence the risk of infection among ELTCRs. Nutritional interventions such as vitamin D (preventing deficiency/insufficiency), Black Chokeberry juice, zinc gluconate, whey protein, and varied and nutrient dense meal plans may be suitable for future rigorous clinical trial evaluation.

An environmental scan of impacts and interventions for women with methamphetamine use in pregnancy and their children.

BACKGROUND: Indigenous women are overrepresented among people who use (PWU) methamphetamine (MA) due to colonialism and intergenerational trauma. Prenatal methamphetamine exposure (PME) is increasing as the number of PWUMA of childbearing age grows. Yet impacts of MA in pregnancy and effective interventions are not yet well understood. OBJECTIVE: We conducted an environmental scan of published and grey literature (2010-2020) to determine effects of MA use in pregnancy for mothers and their offspring, effective interventions and implications for Indigenous women. SEARCH STRATEGY: A strategic search of Ovid Medline, Embase, ProQuest-Public Health and CINAHL databases identified academic literature, while Google and ProQuest-Public Health identified grey literature. SELECTION CRITERIA: Article selection was based on titles, abstracts and keywords. The time frame captured recent MA composition and excluded literature impacted by coronavirus disease 2019. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data extracted from 80 articles identified 463 results related to 210 outcomes, and seven interventions. Analysis focused on six categories: maternal, neonatal/infant, cognitive, behavioral, neurological, and interventions. MAIN RESULTS: Maternal outcomes were more congruent than child outcomes. The most prevalent outcomes were general neonatal/infant outcomes. CONCLUSION: A lack of Indigenous-specific research on PME and interventions highlights a need for future research that incorporates relevant historical and sociocultural contexts.