Factors associated with sources of influence/information in reducing red meat by elderly subjects.

A number of studies have found that health beliefs and social influences predict changes in dietary intake, including red meat. These studies have not determined what kinds of individuals are more likely to change their diets due to the advice of physicians, the advice of significant others, or because of mass-media exposure. We obtained data from 424 elderly Houstonians regarding whether they had attempted to reduce red meat consumption and if so, why. Social network, health status, food attitude and demographic variables are used to differentiate those who have made physician-induced changes from other sources of influence/information for change. Elderly subjects with smaller abdominal girth measurements are more likely to make red meat reductions regardless of the source of influence/information; those who believe in the efficacy of health foods are more likely to give physicians and mass media as sources of influence/information for red meat reductions. Men are more likely than women to report red meat reductions because of mass media and physician influences. Women who receive a greater amount of companionship from their social networks are more likely to change because of friends/relatives influences.

Life events, social support, and immune response in elderly individuals.

One hundred ninety-two elderly men and women were investigated to determine the effects of recent life events, psychological adjustment, and social support on lymphocyte count, controlling for nutritional status, age, education, income, and the presence of lymphocyte-altering drugs. Effects of specific recent life events were found. For elderly males, recent sexual dysfunction lowers lymphocyte count, while psychological adjustment and percentage kin in the intimate network elevates it. For elderly females, the experience of either family or legal problems elevates lymphocyte count as does frequent interaction with members of the intimate network. These results suggest that life events have very different effects on elderly men and women's immune systems. Social support has direct but mediating effects on lymphocyte count for both genders.

Anthropometry and health in the elderly.

Measurements of height, weight, skinfold thicknesses, and circumferences were obtained along with data on health practices and disease from 424 independent-living elderly in the Houston area. The objectives of the study were to examine anthropometric measurements of younger (58 through 74 years) and older (75 through 100 years) elderly individuals and to assess relationships between these measurements and health behaviors and disorders. Results demonstrated differences in anthropometric indexes due to aging and sex. Individuals who considered themselves to be more active than peers or who smoked had lower values for some anthropometric variables such as body mass index and waist circumference. Those who drank alcoholic beverages had lower values for some variables than those who stated that they did not drink alcohol. Diabetes and hypertension in the younger elderly were associated with higher values of some measurements, including waist circumference and body mass index. Anthropometric measurements in the elderly varied with sex, age, health practices, and the presence of certain disorders.

Progress in the development of a nutritional risk index.

The development of a 16-item nutritional risk index (NRI) is chronicled from its inception through its application in three studies designed to assess its reliability and validity. Study I involved a survey of 401 community-dwelling elderly in St. Louis, Missouri who were interviewed at baseline, 4-5 mo later, and 1 yr later. Study II involved a cross-sectional survey of 377 male outpatients attending two clinics at the St. Louis Veterans Administration Medical Center. Study III involved a cross-sectional survey of 424 community-dwelling elderly in Houston, Texas. Internal consistency reliability coefficients ranged between 0.47 and 0.60, and test-retest reliability coefficients ranged between 0.65 and 0.71. Validity was established by using the NRI to predict the use of health services, as well as by correlating it with a variety of anthropometric, laboratory, and clinical markers of nutritional status. The utility of the NRI for future applications is discussed.

The relationship between beliefs about nutrition and dietary practices of the elderly.

Data were collected from home interviews of 424 noninstitutionalized individuals, 58 to 100 years old, in the Houston metropolitan area, to assess the relationships between dietary intake, socioeconomic variables, beliefs about nutrition, and use of nutritional supplements. Two-thirds of the subjects took nutritional supplements. The most common forms were vitamin C, calcium, and multivitamins. With the exception of vitamin B-6, magnesium, and dietary fiber, which were higher in diets of users of nutritional supplements than in diets of nonusers, nutrient density (amount of nutrient per 1,000 kcal) did not differ between the two groups. Attitudes toward the use of nutritional supplements, health foods, and/or nutritional quality of conventional foods differed with sex, age, income, and educational level. Nutrient intake of those with more positive feelings about nutritional supplements was higher, perhaps as a result of increased awareness of diet and health. Nutrition education that is targeted to issues of interest to people in this age group is needed; topics such as the role of nutrients in disease prevention and appropriate nutritional supplementation might be explored. This survey indicates that, although the practice of supplementation may be beneficial to augment nutritional quality of the diet for elderly people, use of nutritional supplements is not restricted to those whose dietary intake is of lower nutrient density than that of nonusers.

Nutritive value of globin-amino acid and complementary globin-cereal mixtures.

Protein efficiency ratios (PER) were determined using male weanling rats fed diets containing bovine globin alone and with wheat and corn gluten. Simultaneous equations and graphical methods were devised for selecting combinations of globin and cereal proteins to provide optimal and suboptimal profiles of limiting amino acids. Supplementation of the globin with amino acids established isoleucine and methionine as limiting amino acids. Addition of globin, whose amino acid pattern is complementary to that of the cereal proteins, markedly improved the PER values of the proteins. However, growth rates of rats fed various combinations of proteins were not identical, even though PER values differed only slightly. The PER of combined proteins were not predictable from amino acid composition or from correlations between PER and chemical score based on National Research Council (NRC) requirements for essential amino acids. The inability of the optimal mixtures to meet expected nutritional performance clearly indicated that other factors affecting availability of amino acids are implicated. Nevertheless, mutual improvement of two incomplete proteins such as globin and wheat or corn gluten was demonstrated. Addition of globin to widely used diets consisting mainly of corn or wheat can be nutritionally beneficial.