Study of Prevalence and Risk Factors of Hypovitaminosis C in Long Term Care Unit

NCT03807791 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 69HCL18_0392
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 100
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The clinical finding of skin rashes which appear after a vitamin C deficiency in Long Term Care Unit leads us to believe that the institutional diet could predispose to this kind of deficiency. Vitamin C has a key role into the struggle against oxidant stress and is involved into the connective tissue formation of the skin and the vascular endothelium. Vitamin C deficiency affects currently 15 to 25% of the elderly over 65 years old reaching 15% women and 20% men after 65 according to Johnston and Al. It concerns mainly the people in precarious situations (persons without fixed homes, ethyl-smoking persons) and elderly over 65 years. Hypovitaminosis C, defined by plasma level between 5 mg/L and 15 mg/L (28.41 to 85.23 µmol/L), is currently undiagnosed, especially with people with a risk of food deficiency and its prevalence increases with age. The treatment consists of a daily oral supplementation of 1 gram of vitamin C/d for 15 days. A minimum intake of 10 mg/D of vitamin C is required to prevent scurvy and maintain a total pool of 350 mg. A diet modification by a systematic intake of 2 glasses of fresh orange juice and/or the consumption of raw fruits and vegetables would prevent the appearance of scurvy.

Conditions

Vitamin C Deficiency; Scurvy

Keywords

Vitamine C deficiency; skin rash; scurvy; food texture; geriatric institution; Unit Of Long Term Care

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Vitamin C plasma level

  1. ) Collection of the consent 2. ) At the same time as other analysis for current cares a blood sample taken by a nurse of our unit to determine plasma levels of vitamin C. 3. ) Registration of risk factors of vitamin C deficiency. . 4. ) Doing a clinical exam within 7 days after the blood sample.

  Between day 0 and day 7.

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Supposed risk factors of hypovitaminosis C

  Day 0

• Cutaneous symptoms

  Day 0

Study Arms (1)

Patient living in the Unit of Long Term Care

EXPERIMENTAL

Patient living in the Unit of Long Term Care without any limit time

Procedure: Blood sample

Interventions

Blood sample PROCEDURE

A blood sample will be taken by the nurse of our unit within a week after their consent. It consists as a simple blood sample and it will be taken during the normal analysis planed by the chief of the service in order to avoid to collect two different samples. The measurement method will use equipment from the Lyon Sud hospital laboratory. The samples need a pre-treatment in the 3 hours after taking the blood to avoid the oxidation of vitamin C and a result lower than expected.

Patient living in the Unit of Long Term Care

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Male or female over 65 years old
• living in the Unit of Long Term Care without any limit time.
• with a system of social insurance
• Who gave its consent by his own , or with help of his representant or his tutor or curator.

You may not qualify if:

• rejection of the blood sample
• patient feeding with articial nutritional feeding (stomach tube feeding)
• person close to death, who is not able to feed himself and / or with life-threatening in short time.
• Patient with personal history of vitamin C deficiency.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hospices Civils de Lyon: lead

Study Sites (1)

Unité de soins Longue Durée, Hôpital Pierre Garraud (Hospices Civils de Lyon)

Lyon, 69005, France

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Lagorsse C., Oumédian E., Bourguignon L, de La Gastine B. Les carences en vitamine C, une cause peu connue d'affections cutanées en institution gériatrique : à propos de 2 cas en Unité de Soins de Longue Durée (USLD). Rev Geriatr 2019 Février 44 2.

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Ascorbic Acid Deficiency; Scurvy; Exanthema

Interventions

Blood Specimen Collection

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Avitaminosis; Deficiency Diseases; Malnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Hemostatic Disorders; Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Hemorrhagic Disorders; Hematologic Diseases; Hemic and Lymphatic Diseases; Skin Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Specimen Handling; Clinical Laboratory Techniques; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Punctures; Surgical Procedures, Operative; Investigative Techniques

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 15, 2019
• First Posted: January 17, 2019
• Study Start: January 31, 2019
• Primary Completion: June 14, 2019
• Study Completion: June 14, 2019
• Last Updated: September 3, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

FR (1)