Feasibility of Implementing a Dietary Intervention in Older Adults with Mild Depressive Symptoms and Low Activity: Lessons Learned
- 1Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- 2Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA 02131, USA
- 3School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Several dietary interventions of blueberry intake have been performed for a wide variety of clinical outcomes (e.g., cardiovascular, bone), but none have been conducted in older adults with mild depressive symptoms and low activity. Such individuals may represent a unique group who may be in particular need of a lifestyle change, but lack the motivation to engage in an intervention. Thus, our goal was to test the feasibility of a dietary intervention in which older adults with mild depressive symptoms and low activity were randomly assigned to consume 48 g of freeze-dried blueberry or placebo powder each day for 3 months. Methods: Individuals were recruited by various methods (e.g., targeted web-based advertisements, flyers, etc.). Our primary assessment of feasibility was retention rate (e.g., the percentage of individuals that completed the intervention out of the total randomized); however, other metrics like recruitment rate, safety, and compliance were also evaluated. We pre-specified that the study would be considered feasible if 80% of the individuals that were randomized to the intervention completed the study. Results: Our study found that 76% (95%CI: 59–93; n = 22 out of 29) of the individuals randomized to the intervention went on to complete the intervention, which is close to, but does not satisfy our pre-specified feasibility threshold. Among individuals that completed the study, compliance with the study powder over the 3 months was relatively high (≥87% in both groups). There were no serious adverse events, and only 10 adverse events that occurred similarly across groups (n = 6 in placebo, n = 4 in blueberry). Conclusions: Together, our data provides evidence that a dietary intervention supplementing a relatively high dose of blueberry powder in a unique population of older adults is possible and adherence was high among those that completed the intervention.
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BibTeX
@article{millar2026feasibility,
title = {{Feasibility of Implementing a Dietary Intervention in Older Adults with Mild Depressive Symptoms and Low Activity: Lessons Learned}},
author = {Courtney L. Millar and Alyssa B. Dufour and Alex Wolfe and Jasmin Kuo and Douglas P. Kiel and Lewis A. Lipsitz},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/nu18213694},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3694},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Feasibility of Implementing a Dietary Intervention in Older Adults with Mild Depressive Symptoms and Low Activity: Lessons Learned
AU - Courtney L. Millar
AU - Alyssa B. Dufour
AU - Alex Wolfe
AU - Jasmin Kuo
AU - Douglas P. Kiel
AU - Lewis A. Lipsitz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/07
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18213694
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3694
AB - Background/Objectives: Several dietary interventions of blueberry intake have been performed for a wide variety of clinical outcomes (e.g., cardiovascular, bone), but none have been conducted in older adults with mild depressive symptoms and low activity. Such individuals may represent a unique group who may be in particular need of a lifestyle change, but lack the motivation to engage in an intervention. Thus, our goal was to test the feasibility of a dietary intervention in which older adults with mild depressive symptoms and low activity were randomly assigned to consume 48 g of freeze-dried blueberry or placebo powder each day for 3 months. Methods: Individuals were recruited by various methods (e.g., targeted web-based advertisements, flyers, etc.). Our primary assessment of feasibility was retention rate (e.g., the percentage of individuals that completed the intervention out of the total randomized); however, other metrics like recruitment rate, safety, and compliance were also evaluated. We pre-specified that the study would be considered feasible if 80% of the individuals that were randomized to the intervention completed the study. Results: Our study found that 76% (95%CI: 59–93; n = 22 out of 29) of the individuals randomized to the intervention went on to complete the intervention, which is close to, but does not satisfy our pre-specified feasibility threshold. Among individuals that completed the study, compliance with the study powder over the 3 months was relatively high (≥87% in both groups). There were no serious adverse events, and only 10 adverse events that occurred similarly across groups (n = 6 in placebo, n = 4 in blueberry). Conclusions: Together, our data provides evidence that a dietary intervention supplementing a relatively high dose of blueberry powder in a unique population of older adults is possible and adherence was high among those that completed the intervention.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -