Abstract: Objective To explore the effect of oral nutritional supplement (ONS) therapy in the elderly patients with cognitive frailty (CF). Methods Eighty elderly patients with CF were randomly divided into intervention group and control group, with 40 cases in each group. The control group was given regular diet, the intervention group was given ONS on the basis of control group. Before the intervention and 6 months after the intervention, the serum levels of nutritional indicators including transferrin (TRF), albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PAB), hemoglobin (Hb) were detected, the Mini Nutritional Assessment Scale (MNA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Fried Frailty Phenotype (PFP), Frailty Index based on comprehensive geriatric assessment (FI-CGA) scores were evaluated, the walking speed and triceps skin fold thickness (TSF) were measured. Results After 6 months of the intervention, the serum levels of TRF, ALB, PAB, Hb, MNA score, MMSE score and TSF of the intervention group were significantly increased, PFP and FI-CGA scores were significantly decreased than those before intervention(P<0.05 or P<0.01 ), while in the control group, there were no significant differences of the above indexes(P>0.05). After 6 months of the intervention, the above indexes of the intervention group were significant improved than those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusions ONS therapy can improve the nutritional status and cognitive function of the elderly patients with CF, reduce weakness and fatigue, and enhance physical functions. It is recommended that elderly patients with CF implement ONS appropriately.

Key words: cognitive frailty, oral nutritional supplementation, cognitive function, nutritional status, physical function, aged