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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Healthy Body Weight Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #78101
Title: NUTRITION, THE OLDER ADULT AND THE LABORATORY

Author
item GALLAGHER, SANDY - UNIVERSITY OF ND
item MILLER, SHARON - NORTH ILL UNIVERSITY
item Milne, David

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: This manuscript describes the clinical laboratory's role in nutritional assessment of the elderly. The percentage of Americans over 65 will increase to 22% of the population by the year 2030. This group of people is better educated and is proactive in improving the quality of their life. Television and magazines actively pursue this group of people telling them of the benefits of supplements. Nevertheless it is expected that a large percent of this population will have chronic diseases and conditions that will need to be identified and corrected. The clinical laboratory can provide objective, quantitative information on the state of this population's health.

Technical Abstract: The elderly will be a major consumer of health care resources. As the population ages, over 85% of this group will have chronic diseases or conditions that may benefit from nutrition intervention. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) has mandated that Health Care organizations include nutrition screening within n the first 48 hours of admission to a hospital. The laboratory can provid objective, quantitative information on nutritional indicators. This manuscript looks at methods to measure protein, lipid, vitamins and trace metals that can be used in nutritional assessment.