Nutrition
Leader: Marjolein Visser Gulistan Bahat
Aims
To create a platform for discussions on issues relevant to nutrition in the care of older adults and to nutrition in healthy aging in general. To this end, the SIG aims to be in close-collaboration with the other international active groups involved in nutrition in older adults.
To initiate collaborative studies to support evidence-based nutritional approaches in the care of older adults.
Relevance for the purposes of the EuGMS
Nutrition has been established as one of the key modifiable determinants of healthy aging. Optimal nutritional approaches are a crucial component of comprehensive care of older adults, benefiting both healthy older adults and those managing chronic illnesses or acute conditions.
Members
N° of members: 103
Expected method of work
Group meetings, expert discussions, and conduct of collaborative research projects
Ongoing Projects
The group is currently involved in three collaborative projects.
The first project aims to develop a Core Outcome Set (COS) for nutritional intervention studies to treat protein-energy malnutrition in older adults. A COS is an agreed minimum set of outcomes that should be measured and reported in all clinical trials. Inclusion of this COS in future intervention studies will allow better comparison of treatment effects across studies, and will facilitate the conduct of meta-analyses and individual patient data analyses in the future. This will importantly increase our knowledge and understanding about optimal treatment of protein-energy malnutrition in older adults across settings. In the first phase, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify commonly used outcomes in three settings (community, hospital, and long-term care). Results have been published in European Geriatric Medicine (see below).A paper describing the full protocol of the different phases of our COS project was published in BMC Geriatrics (see below). Among SIG members and researchers actively involved in nutritional intervention studies in older adults with malnutrition and those at risk, as well as among health care professionals experienced in treating older adults with malnutrition or those at risk, we performed a web-based survey (in English) using a modified Delphi approach. After two rounds and a final consensus meeting including patient representatives, we established what outcomes should be included in the COS. This paper was published in the Eur J Clin Nutr (see below). Currently, the group is working on establishing how the selected COS outcomes should be measured. If you are interested, please contact Dr. Nuno Mendonça: nuno.mendonca@nms.unl.pt. Future collaborative projects will involve the dissemination and implementation of the results.
The second project involves malnutrition awareness. Several members of the SIG are currently involved in translating and culturally adapting a newly developed questionnaire to assess malnutrition awareness in community-dwelling older adults (see below), in close collaboration with the Dutch developing team. In a second step, we aim to collect and combine European data on malnutrition awareness. If you are interested, please contact Dr. Eva Leıstra: e.leıstra(at)vu.nl
The third project is an international study aimed at identifying current practices and knowledge gaps regarding the use of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) across Europe and beyond. A practical guide for healthcare professionals (HCPs) involved in nutrition, outlining the principles for optimal ONS use in medical nutrition therapy, was published in 2022 (DOI: 10.1038/s41430-022-01229-9). This guide was subsequently updated and internationally validated in 2024 with the contributions of 22 recognized experts in the field of nutrition. Building on these updated principles, this third project seeks to evaluate current practices, assess the level of knowledge concerning ONS use, and identify key knowledge gaps that require further attention. If you are interested in participating in the study, International Study to Outline Practices and Knowledge Gaps on ONS Use, please contact us at gbahatozturk(at)yahoo.com and ezgipinar7(at)hotmail.com
Publications
Visser M, Mendonça N, Avgerinou C, Cederholm T, Cruz Jentoft AJ, Goisser S, Eva Kiesswetter E, Siebentritt HM, Volkert D, Torbahn G. Towards developing a Core Outcome Set for malnutrition intervention studies in older adults: a systematic scoping review to identify frequently used outcomes. Eur Geriatr Med. 2022 Mar 12. doi: 10.1007/s41999-022-00617-5.
Visser M, Mendonça N, Avgerinou C, Cavdar S, Cederholm T, Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Kiesswetter E, Siebentritt HM, Sieber C, Torbahn G, Volkert D. A Core Outcome Set for nutritional intervention studies in older adults with malnutrition and those at risk: a study protocol. BMC Geriatrics 2023;23:221.
Mendonça N, Avgerinou C, Çavdar S, Cederholm T, Cruz Jentoft AJ, Torbahn G, Sieber C, Siebentritt HM, Kiesswetter E, Volkert D, Visser M. Critical outcomes to be included in the Core Outcome Set for nutrition intervention studies in older adults with and at risk of malnutrition: a modified Delphi Study. Eur J Clin Nutr 2024, May 23.
Visser M, Sealy MJ, Leistra E, Naumann E, De van der Schueren MAE, Jager-Wittenaar H. The Malnutrition Awareness Scale for community-dwelling older adults: Development and psychometric properties. Clin Nutr 2024;43:446-52.
Way of communication among members
Per mail, video conferencing and in person SIG meetings
Planning of meetings
Yearly at the EuGMS congresses and in between the congresses, if special tasks have to be fulfilled.
Next in person meeting: 21st EuGMS International Congress, Reykjavik, Iceland 2025.
In 2025, webinars will be organized to present and discuss ongoing research.
update: December 2024