Nutritional Status Is Associated with Health-Related Quality of Life, Physical Activity, and Sleep Quality: A Cross-Sectional Study in an Elderly Greek Population

Abstract

This study aims to explore the associations between nutritional status and health-related quality of life, physical activity, and sleep quality in older exclusively Caucasian adults from Greec who were free of any severe disease. This is a cross-sectional study. Mini Nutritional Assessment was used to assess nutritional status, health-related quality of life was assessed using the Short Form Healthy Survey questionnaire, sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and physical activity levels were assessed via the International Physical Activity Questionnaire3405 community-dwelling men and women, over 65 years old from14 different Greek regions were enrolled. Ten-point four percent (10.4%) of the participants were classified as malnourished, while 35.6% were “at risk of malnutrition”. A better nutritional status was significantly and independently associated with higher physical activity levels (p = 0.0011) and better quality of life (p = 0.0135), as well as better sleep quality (p = 0.0202). In conclusion, our study highlights the interrelationships between a good nutritional status, a high-quality sleep, active lifestyle, and good quality of life. Further interventional studies are needed to clarify the associations, and test the feasibility of improving the nutritional status, physical activity levels and sleep quality of the elderly, and the impact of these changes on quality of life, and healthy ageing in races beyond Caucasian populations. Public health strategies and policies should be recommended to inform older adults for the necessity to improve their nutritional status and lifestyle habits to improve their health status and to obtain better life expectancy.

Assessment of frailty, daily life activities, and nutrition of elderly immigrants: A household based cross-sectional study

“…[3] The relationship between BMI and malnutrition is stronger in the presence of chronic diseases, [63–65] and early detection of malnutrition is important both to reduce morbidity and mortality and to improve the quality of life of the elderly. [66,67]…”

“…[3] The relationship between BMI and malnutrition is stronger in the presence of chronic diseases, [63][64][65] and early detection of malnutrition is important both to reduce morbidity and mortality and to improve the quality of life of the elderly. [66,67] The ability to perform daily living activities is associated with frailty and malnutrition. In our study, as the level of clinical frailty increased, the risk of malnutrition increased, and the level of independence of immigrant elderly individuals in performing daily living activities decreased.…”

Exploring the interplay of frailty, physical function, physical activity, nutritional status, and their association with quality of life and depressive symptoms in older adults with the frailty phenotype

“…Similarly, higher levels of physical activity have been associated with improved quality of life and reduced depressive symptoms 9 . Furthermore, nutritional status has been linked to better quality of life 10 and reduced depression 11 in older adults. Despite extensive research on these factors in the older population, limited investigation has specifically addressed their contribution to the quality of life and depression status of older adults with current frailty symptoms.…”

Association of Higher Mediterranean Diet Adherence With Lower Prevalence of Disability and Symptom Severity, Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Sleep Quality, Cognitive Impairment, and Physical Inactivity in Older Adults With Multiple Sclerosis

“…21 In this aspect, a few studies documented that a better nutritional status was associated with lower prevalence if worse health-related quality of life, higher physical activity, and adequate sleep quality, cognitive impairment, and depression. 22,23 These studies highlighted that public health strategies and policies should be applied for informing older adults for the necessity to improve their nutritional status and lifestyle habits to improve their health status and to obtain better life expectancy. 22,23 Neuropsychiatric symptoms have frequently been reported in peoples with MS.…”

“…22,23 These studies highlighted that public health strategies and policies should be applied for informing older adults for the necessity to improve their nutritional status and lifestyle habits to improve their health status and to obtain better life expectancy. 22,23 Neuropsychiatric symptoms have frequently been reported in peoples with MS. Among them, cognitive impairment, clinical depression, and anxiety seem to be the most common with a higher frequency in peoples with MS compared to the general population.…”