Malnutrition among elderly a multifactorial condition to flourish: Evidence from a cross-sectional study

Abstract

A B S T R A C TAim: The negative outcomes like an increased risk of falling, anemia, immune dysregulation, impaired cognitive status, reduced muscle function, increased morbidity and mortality associated with malnutrition are believed to affect the economy of the country in the future years. In this backdrop, this study aims to evaluate the nutritional status and different risk factors associated with malnutrition among elderly patients at a tertiary care public teaching hospital. Methods: This questionnaire-based study utilized the "Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form" tool to evaluate the nutritional status of elderly inpatients (aged 60 years or more). The data obtained from 235 participants reporting in the medicine department is presented. Based upon MNA-SF tool parameters, a well-determined score was obtained and on the basis of scores, the patients were categorized into "normal" (12-14), "at risk of malnutrition" (8-11 points) and "malnourished" (0-7 points). Multinomial logistic regression was performed to study the influence of different determinants on the nutritional status among elderly inpatients. Results: The studied sample had a high frequency of 50.2% for the patients who are "at risk of malnutrition" and 46.4% of patients were "malnourished". Based on the evaluated scores of MNA-SF tool, this study also confirms that the mobility functions, the decline in food intake and weight loss are major risk factors for malnutrition. Conclusions: A very high prevalence of malnutrition was observed, in consonance with the previous reports. The findings also indicate that malnutrition is a multifactorial condition mostly associated with mobility dysfunction followed by somatic factors and socio-demographic factors. Further studies are required to map the risk factors in order to avoid the associated negative outcomes.

Assessment of Knowledge Regarding Nutrition Among Elderly in Rural Area, Sharkia Governorate

“…Which estimated the number of elderly in Egypt reached 7.3 million in 2020. This result is nearly in agreement with Rashid et al (15) in India, which found that the average age of the studied elderly was 68.2 ± 0.4. Likewise, Arthur et al (16) in Ghana, found that the target population for the study was who were 60 years and above.…”

Impact of Cooking Preparation on In Vitro Digestion of Eggs Simulating Some Gastrointestinal Alterations in Elders

“…Physiological functions declining with aging include body composition, brain function, gastrointestinal (GI) tract function, fluid balance, bones and joints, or cardiovascular system, among others . Sarcopenia, loss of muscle mass associated with a protein deficit, asthenia, depression, or weakness of the immune system often occur in elderly. , The masticatory deficiency in elderly, i.e., leading to food boluses with larger particle size distribution and more difficult to swallow, has been reported to influence the nutrients digestibility . Also, a decline in the GI tract function has been reported to be partially responsible for the protein deficit.…”

The Effect of Dynamic Food Labels with Real-Time Feedback on Diet Quality: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…An extensive body of literature has shown that low-quality diets contribute to excessive weight gain [ 1 ], obesity [ 2 ], and major NCDs that include type 2 diabetes [ 3 , 4 ], cardiovascular diseases [ 5 , 6 ], nonalcoholic fatty liver disease [ 4 ], and several cancers [ 7 ]. Diets lacking essential vitamins and nutrients can also lead to health conditions related to malnutrition, a growing problem among the elderly [ 8 ].…”