ARS | Publication request: DIURETIC THERAPY USE INCREASES THE RISK FOR LOW THIAMIN INTAKE IN HOMEBOUND ELDERS

Submitted to: Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 9, 2003
Publication Date: April 23, 2004
Citation: McCabe Sellers, B., Sharkey, J.R. 2004. Diuretic therapy use increases the risk for low thiamin intake in homebound elders [abstract]. Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. 18(4):A95.

Technical Abstract: Although diuretic therapy (DT), which plays a major role in disease management, may increase thiamin excretion, little attention has been paid to the linkage between DT use and dietary intake of thiamin, especially in nutritionally vulnerable elders. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between DT use and dietary intake of thiamin in a randomly-recruited sample of homebound elders. Baseline data, including 3 24-h dietary recalls, from the Nutrition and Function study were used to identify thiamin intake from food (15% <EAR and 33% <RDA), DT use (51%), and meal pattern (18% not regularly eat breakfast) in 327 homebound recipients of home-delivered meals (aged 61-98 years, 49% Black, 81% female, and 65% income <$750/month). Independent of sociodemographic and meal pattern variables, DT users (relative to nonusers) were at increased odds for dietary thiamin intake <RDA (OR = 2.3) and <EAR (OR = 4.2). Considering the importance of home-delivered meals as a primary source of food assistance to homebound elders and that thiamin deficiency may exacerbate health problems, the results of this study suggest the need to include information on DT use as an integral component of program assessment for the targeting and monitoring of new, innovative, and cost effective strategies to alleviate the risk for deficiency.