Assessment of the nutritional status of the elderly and its correlates

Abstract

Background:The percentage of elderly is growing rapidly and malnutrition is not uncommon in the elderly.Objectives:The present study was carried out to assess the nutritional status of the elderly using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) tool, and to study the various epidemiological factors influencing their nutritional status.Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional study was done from July 2012 to August 2013 in Boko-Bongaon Block, Kamrup District, Assam, India. The elderly, those over 60 years of age, who met the inclusion criteria participated in the study. A total of 30 clusters were selected and 12 elderly from each cluster were taken to achieve the desired sample size of 360. Nutritional status was assessed by the MNA tool and a 24-h dietary recall method.Results:Out of the total of 360 elderly persons, 15% were found to be malnourished and 55% were at risk of malnutrition. The association between nutritional status and older age group, female gender, dependent functional status, dependent financial status and inadequate calorie intake was found to be significant.Conclusion:The present findings reveal that malnutrition is not an uncommon problem in the elderly, and further studies are needed in this regard.

Nutritional status of elders in Galle district, Sri Lanka

“…As seen in studies conducted in other countries in the region (14,16,17) an increasing age is found to be independently associated with poor nutritional status in our study too. Aging is associated with the decline in a number of physiological functions that can impact nutritional status, including impaired digestion, difficulties in chewing and swallowing, loss of sensory perception, and impaired metabolism (1,5,6).…”

“…This finding is somewhat low compared to the observed findings in the region; in an Indian study the rate was 60.4% and in an Iranian study conducted on the elderly living in nursing homes the rate was 38.7% (12,13). Further, no gender difference in the rate of malnutrition was observed in our study although many studies conducted on nutritional status of elders in South Asia had shown gender differences of nutritional status in the elderly (12)(13)(14). For example, a study conducted in Assam, India (14) found that the elderly women were at higher risk of being malnourished compared to the elderly men (45.6% vs 21.7%).…”

“…Further, no gender difference in the rate of malnutrition was observed in our study although many studies conducted on nutritional status of elders in South Asia had shown gender differences of nutritional status in the elderly (12)(13)(14). For example, a study conducted in Assam, India (14) found that the elderly women were at higher risk of being malnourished compared to the elderly men (45.6% vs 21.7%). Nondiscriminatory attitudes of Sri Lankan towards women, financial independence experienced by a significant proportion of elderly women who had been engaged in paid jobs before retirement and gender equality in the participation in the formal educational system in the country may have been the reasons for this observation (15), but further research is needed to confirm our assertions.…”

“…These physiological changes together with psychological health issues such as depression, dementia and anxiety and social issues such as social isolation and bereavement can diminish the nutritional status of senior elders (1,(5)(6)(7). It appeared that the elders who were not economically dependents were less vulnerable to poor nutritional status probably because those elders may have decision making powers in food intake (14). Elders living in rural areas seem to be a disadvantaged group.…”

“…Elders living in rural areas seem to be a disadvantaged group. It has been reported that poverty is one of the root causes of malnourishment found among the elderly in many of the developing countries (14,18) and Sri Lanka is no exception (19,20).…”