Can an Intervention with Testosterone and Nutritional Supplement Improve the Frailty Level of Under-Nourished Older People?
J Frailty Aging 2017;
5:247-252. [PMID:
27883172 DOI:
10.14283/jfa.2016.108]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether a testosterone and a high calorie nutritional supplement intervention can reduce frailty scores in undernourished older people using multiple frailty tools.
DESIGN
Randomized controlled trial.
SETTING/PARTICIPANTS
53 community-dwelling, undernourished men and women aged >65 years from South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.
INTERVENTION
Intervention group received oral testosterone undecanoate and a high calorie supplement (2108-2416 kJ/day) whereas the control group received placebo testosterone and low calorie supplement (142-191 kJ/day).
MEASUREMENTS
Frailty was operationalized using three frailty indices (FI-lab, FI-self-report, FI-combined) and the frailty phenotype.
RESULTS
There were no significant differences in changes in frailty scores at either 6 or 12 months follow up between the two treatment groups for all scales. Participants at the intervention group were 4.8 times more likely to improve their FI-combined score at both time points compared to the placebo group.
CONCLUSION
A testosterone and a high calorie nutritional supplement intervention did not improve the frailty levels of under-nourished older people. Even so, when frailty was measured using a frailty index combining self-reported and lab data we found that participants who received the intervention were more likely to show persistent improvement in their frailty scores.
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