NUTRITION AND BIPOLAR DISORDERS IN OLDER ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Introduction Nutrition is an important factor that contributes to physical health and general wellbeing, and particularly so in the elderly. For instance, malnutrition has been linked with poor health outcomes, and old age is associated with micro-nutrients changes that appear to significantly correlate with poorer health outcomes including cerebrovascular diseases, bone demineralization, frailty and impaired immune function. However, little is known about the role of nutrition in older adults with bipolar disorders (OABD). To better understand this issue, we conducted a systematic review of literature on nutrition in OABD. Methods We searched databases including Medline/PubMed, PsychINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Register FDA, and clinical trial registries till May 2018 for eligible reports. The search string combined MeSH terms for Bipolar disorder, nutrition and older adults. This was supplemented by snowball searching of references of included studies and relevant reviews for additional studies. Data extraction was done by at least two persons independently. Results Fifteen studies that included a subpopulation of OABD were included. The topic foci of the papers include nutritients (including vitamins B 12 , vitamin D, folate, homocysteine, and creatinine) deficiencies, use of herbal-nutritional products, influence of nutrients on affective and cognitive outcomes, and relationship of nutritional factors with MRI measures of white matter densities. The sample sizes of OABD are generally small and follow-up is limited. Conclusions Our findings underscore the need for novel research including trials to shed more light on the benefits and therapeutic applications of nutrition in OABD. This research was funded by No Funding to declare.