Nutrition, Immunity & Health Status of Elderly Ecuadora*

描述（由申请人提供）本研究将主要在厄瓜多尔进行，作为NIA拨款1 R01 AG13975的延伸，1997年5月- 2003年4月“老年人维生素E和感染”。父母补助金的总体目标是确定营养素对老年人免疫反应和抵抗传染病的作用。具体而言，目标包括评估一年补充维生素E对以下方面的影响：1)呼吸道感染（RI）发生率、病假总数和抗生素使用；2)体内和体外细胞介导和体液免疫反应指数；3)其他感染的发生率、住院、转移到熟练的养老院设施和死亡。我们打算通过确定厄瓜多尔老年人的营养状况、免疫反应和健康状况之间的关系来扩大这项赠款的目标。在此过程中，我们将部分利用相关NIH拨款的基础设施，1 R01HD 38327-0 1 A1，“维生素a和锌：预防肺炎（VAZPOP）研究，1月2000- 12月2004。后一个项目正在研究维生素A和/或锌对预防厄瓜多尔营养不良儿童肺炎和腹泻疾病的潜在益处。发达国家和发展中国家的老年人数量都在增加。与年龄相关的生理、心理、社会和经济变化对老年人的营养和免疫状况产生不利影响。这些变化往往反映在健康状况不佳和生活质量下降上。感染，特别是呼吸道感染，在老年人中很普遍，并在很大程度上导致了老年人的发病率和死亡率以及相关的保健费用。微量营养素补充已被提出作为一种具有成本效益的干预措施，以提高免疫反应和降低发病率和死亡率的老年人。由于营养缺乏和传染病在厄瓜多尔等发展中国家的发病率较高，因此在这些国家可以更有效地确定营养、免疫反应和传染病之间的相互作用。这些资料对发展中国家很有价值，因为尽管这些国家的老年人越来越多，但对这些国家老年人的营养和免疫状况及其对老年人口健康的影响所知甚少。因此，本提案的具体目的是确定生活在基多VAZPOP研究区（贫穷的西北郊）的老年人口的营养、免疫和健康状况。营养状况将通过获取膳食摄入量、选定的营养分析和人体测量来评估。免疫状态将通过延迟型超敏皮肤试验（DTH）、细胞谱和全血测定来评估淋巴细胞增殖和选定的细胞因子产生。将使用健康调查表确定健康状况。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant)This research will be done primarily in Ecuador as an extension of NIA grant 1 R01 AG13975, May 1997- April 2003 "Vitamin E and Infection in the Elderly." The overall goal of the parent grant is to determine the role of nutrients on immune response and resistance to infectious diseases in the elderly. Specifically, the objectives include evaluations of the effect of one year supplementation with vitamin E on: 1) incidence of respiratory infections (RI), total number of sick days, and antibiotic use, 2) in vivo and in vitro indices of cell-mediated and humoral immune responses, and 3) incidence of other infections, hospitalization, transfer to skilled nursing home facilities, and death. We intend to expand the goals of this grant by determining the relationship between nutritional status, immune response and health status in Ecuadorian elderly. In so doing, we will in part utilize the infrastructure of a related NIH grant, 1 R01HD 38327-0 1 A1, "Vitamin A and Zinc: Prevention of Pneumonia (VAZPOP) Study, Jan 2000-Dec 2004. This latter project is studying the potential benefits of vitamin A and/or zinc for the prevention of pneumonia and diarrheal diseases in malnourished children in Ecuador. The number of elderly is increasing both in developed and developing countries. Age-associated physiological, psychological, social, and economic changes adversely affect the nutritional and immunological status of older individuals. These changes are often reflected in poor health and a reduced quality of life. Infections, particularly respiratory infections, are prevalent in the elderly, and contribute significantly to their morbidity and mortality as well as to the associated costs of heath care. Micronutrient supplementation has been proposed as a cost-effective intervention to improve immune response and reduce morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Because of the higher prevalence of nutritional deficiencies and infectious diseases in developing countries such as Ecuador, the interaction between nutrition, immune response, and infectious diseases can be more efficaciously determined in these countries. Such information would be of great value to developing countries, because, despite the increasing number of elderly in these countries, very little is known about the nutritional and immunological status of their elderly and their impact on the health of the older population. Thus the specific aim of this proposal is to determine the nutritional, immunological, and health status of the elderly population living in the VAZPOP study area (poor northwestern suburb) of Quito. Nutritional status will be assessed by obtaining dietary intake, selected nutrient analysis, and anthropometrics measurements. Immunological status will be assessed using delayed type hypersensitivity skin test (DTH), cellular profile, and a whole blood assay to determine lymphocyte proliferation and selected cytokine production. Health status will be determined using health questionnaires.