Fatty acid composition of serum lipids and its relation to diet in an elderly institutionalized population

This study was conducted to determine the nutritional status with respect to fatty acids of 53 institutionalized elderly subjects (group A). Seven-day food records and biochemical determinations were used. The same protocol was applied to 25 healthy young adults (group B). The 1981 French Recommended Dietary Allowances were used to assess adequacy of intake. Total fat intake was found to be too high in both groups. Higher intakes of animal fats and saturated fatty acids and lower intakes of polyunsaturated fatty acids and linoleic acid were documented in group A than in group B. Elderly subjects exhibited decreased 18:2 omega 6 and 20:4 omega 6 in serum phospholipids and triglycerides. Other indicators of essential fatty acid status in group A differed from group B in the direction of deficiency (double-bond index [DBI], 0.93 +/- 0.01 vs 1.13 +/- 0.04, p less than 0.001; total omega 6, 25.07 +/- 0.46% vs 32.49 +/- 0.89%, p less than 0.001). These findings indicate that institutionalized elderly people are deficient in circulating essential fatty acids, which appears to be caused by both diet and metabolism.