Can dietitians at home keep older adults strong after a hospital stay?
NCT ID NCT04016532
First seen Sep 21, 2026 · Last updated Sep 21, 2026
Summary
Researchers are studying whether personalized dietary advice delivered at home by professional dietitians helps older adults maintain or improve their nutritional status after leaving the hospital. The study follows 353 patients aged 75 and older who return home after an acute geriatric stay. Over three months, dietitians visit participants at home to provide tailored dietary advice and recipe sheets, with no changes to their medical prescriptions. The goal is to identify which factors are linked to better nutrition and independence.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Personalized dietary management at home, delivered through dietitian home visits and tailored dietary advice
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could show which older patients benefit most from home dietary support after a hospital stay, helping them regain weight and independence.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study, not a randomized trial, so it cannot prove that the dietary advice itself causes any improvement. Patients who do well may simply be those who were healthier to begin with.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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353 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jun 2019
- Finished
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Nov 2023
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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60 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Unscheduled hospitalization of at least 4 days in acute geriatrics, * Direct return to home or independent residence after hospitalization, * To be domiciled in the Hauts-de-Seine department, * Good understanding of the French language, * Beneficiary of a social security scheme, * Having read the briefing note and having consented to participate in the study by signing a written consent, Exclusion Criteria: * Severe cognitive impairment according to DMS-IV criteria, * Inflammatory syndrome (CRP \> 30 mg/l) * Evolving cancer; * Chronic respiratory failure, * Stage IV heart failure * long-term corticosteroids (\> 10 mg/d prednisolone or equivalent), * Enteral and parenteral nutrition at home, * Chronic end-stage pathology; * Inability to walk without human help * Major person subject to a legal protection measure (guardianship, guardianship and safeguarding of justice)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Geriactric Departement, Rives de Seine hopsital
Courbevoie, Île-de-France Region, 92400, France