P376: In 2014, there is still a substantial number of older nursing home residents without vitamin D supplementation

Abstract

Introduction: Vitamin D inadequacy is common in the elderly population, especially among institutionalized people. Because an optimal vitamin D status has been linked with lower healthrelated adverse effects, the use of vitamin D supplementation has been recommended in older and frail population. The objective of this study was to assess the number of nursing home residents supplemented with vitamin D. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study performed early 2014 in 4 nursing homes from Belgium. Vitamin D supplementations consumed were collected from medical records. Results: A total of 156 elderly institutionalized subjects (mean age: 84.8±8.4 years, 76.6% of women) were included in this study. Seventy-eight (i.e. 50%) were supplemented with vitamin D at a median dose of 880 IU/day (P25-P75: 833 IU/day-3571 IU/day). Interestingly, only 5 (6.41%) of them received a mean daily dose below 800IU and 47 (60.3%) a mean daily dose between 800 and 1000 IU. Those supplemented with vitamin D had, compared to non-supplemented subjects, a significantly lower body mass index (25.1±4.7 kg/m vs. 27.1±4.94 kg/m, p = 0.01), a higher number of drugs consumed (10.57±3.72 vs. 9.10±4.30 p=0.02), and a lower physical function, assessed by the “short physical performance battery” (4.52±2.90 points vs. 5.60±3.13 points, p = 0.03) and the “timed up and go” test (32.9±30.5 seconds vs. 23.4±12.7 seconds, p = 0.01). Conclusion: Compared to what has been previously observed in Belgium a few years ago, it seems that the number of nursing home subjects supplemented with vitamin D increases although it is not optimal yet.