scholarly journals Six simple questions to detect malnutrition or malnutrition risk in elderly women

PeerJ ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e1316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tranquilina Gutiérrez-Gómez ◽  
Ernesto Cortés ◽  
Antonio Palazón-Bru ◽  
Isabel Peñarrieta-de Córdova ◽  
Vicente Francisco Gil-Guillén ◽  
...  

Of the numerous instruments available to detect nutritional risk, the most widely used is the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), but it takes 15–20 min to complete and its systematic administration in primary care units is not feasible in practice. We developed a tool to evaluate malnutrition risk that can be completed more rapidly using just clinical variables. Between 2008 and 2013, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 418 women aged ≥60 years from Mexico. Our outcome was positive MNA and our secondary variables included were: physical activity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, educational level, dentition, psychological problems, living arrangements, history of falls, age and the number of tablets taken daily. The sample was divided randomly into two groups: construction and validation. Construction: a risk table was constructed to estimate the likelihood of the outcome, and risk groups were formed. Validation: the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated and we compared the expected and the observed outcomes. The following risk factors were identified: physical activity, hypertension, diabetes, dentition, psychological problems and living with the family. The AUC was 0.77 (95% CI [0.68–0.86],p< 0.001). No differences were found between the expected and the observed outcomes (p= 0.902). This study presents a new malnutrition screening test for use in elderly women. The test is based on six very simple, quick and easy-to-evaluate questions, enabling the MNA to be reserved for confirmation. However, it should be used with caution until validation studies have been performed in other geographical areas.

Revista CEFAC ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Letícia de Carvalho Palhano Travassos ◽  
Daniela Xavier de Souza ◽  
Jayne de Freitas Bandeira ◽  
Darlyane de Souza Barros Rodrigues ◽  
Ana Karênina de Freitas Jordão do Amaral ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Purpose: to relate nutritional risk and signs and symptoms of swallowing disorders as reported by hospitalized elderly, as well as to correlate the Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) total score with the total number of signs and symptoms. Methods: a cross-sectional study with a convenience sample of 28 hospitalized patients, mean age of 72.18 ± 5.92 years, 15 (53.6%) males. The nutritional risk was evaluated by the MNA total score. Signs and symptoms of alterations in swallowing were investigated by means of an interview with 11 items. The Spearman’s correlation coefficient and the Mann-Whitney test were applied. The confidence interval was of 95%. Results: half the sample reported at least one sign or symptom of alteration in swallowing, with choking being the most frequent (32.1%). The MNA total score median (19.75) indicated nutritional risk. Elderly who reported choking presented worse performance in the MNA (p = 0.05). There was no correlation between the MNA total score and the total number of signs and symptoms of alterations in swallowing. Conclusion: nutritional risk was higher in hospitalized elderly with complaint of choking, but no correlation was found between the total number of signs and symptoms of alterations in swallowing and the MNA total score in this population.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Luísa Moreira dos Santos ◽  
Teresa Maria de Serpa Pinto Freitas do Amaral ◽  
Nuno Pedro Garcia Fernandes Bento Borges

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of undernutrition in older adults aged >75 years living in communities and to identify the main factors independently associated with undernutrition. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a random sample of family physicians' medical records of 86 older adults aged >75 years living in the community studied. Their nutritional status was evaluated using the Mini Nutritional Assessment. RESULTS: A total of 10.5% of the elderly were undernourished and 41.9% were at undernutrition risk. According to the logistic regression multivariable model, the following characteristics: being widowed (OR=6.7; 95%CI=1.8-24.6); being institutionalized (OR=12.6; 95%CI=1.7-90.5); or having a negative self-perception of health (OR=15.0; 95%CI=3.3-69.1) were independently associated with a significant increase of undernutrition risk. CONCLUSION: The current study shows that undernutrition is highly prevalent in Portuguese older adults aged >75 years living in communities. The major factors independently associated with their undernutrition are being widowed and institutionalized and having negative self-perception of health. The results obtained show that undernutrition and its associated factors are very serious problems for older adults and a challenge in their health care.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Damião ◽  
Álvaro da Silva Santos ◽  
Alicia Matijasevich ◽  
Paulo Rossi Menezes

ABSTRACT: Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition risk and its association with socioeconomic, behavioral, and health characteristics in the community-dwelling elderly. Methods: A cross-sectional study with individuals aged ≥ 60 years. Nutritional status was evaluated using the Mini Nutritional Assessment. Socioeconomic, behavioral, and health information was also collected from all participants. The association between each variable and the risk of malnutrition was calculated and adjusted using Poisson hierarchical regression. Results: The initial sample consisted of 3,101 elderly people, of whom 28.3% (95%CI 25.3 - 31.4%) were at risk of malnutrition. The multivariate analysis showed that the risk of malnutrition was significantly higher in women without formal education, who did not live with a partner, and identified as black-skinned. The risk of malnutrition was twice as high in individuals with no family income as compared to those who earned at least three minimum wages. Smokers were also more likely to be at risk of malnutrition than individuals who had never smoked. Participants suffering from kidney, respiratory or heart disease were at higher risk of malnutrition than those with no history of such illnesses. Conclusion: These findings could be used to help in the development of health policies and in the establishment of adequate programs aimed at reducing the risk of malnutrition in this population.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2407
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Gkiouras ◽  
Stavros Cheristanidis ◽  
Theopoula D. Papailia ◽  
Maria G. Grammatikopoulou ◽  
Nikolaos Karamitsios ◽  
...  

Although food insecurity has been associated with a disadvantageous socioeconomic status, especially in older adults, its association with comorbidities is less clear. The scope of the present cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence of food insecurity among older adults and evaluate the association between food insecurity, malnutrition, chronic disease, multimorbidity and healthcare utilization. A total of 121 older adults (mean (standard deviation) age: 72.6 (8.1)) were recruited from a Primary Care Health Center from 10 August 2019 to 10 September 2019. Food insecurity and malnutrition status were assessed by the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale and Mini Nutritional Assessment tool, respectively. Recorded variables included financial, family data and comorbidities. The prevalence of food insecurity in the sample reached 50.4%, with men and older adults malnourished or at risk for malnutrition, exhibiting high risk for food insecurity. Multimorbidity, frequency of health care utilization and medication adherence were not associated with food insecurity, possibly due to the free health services and remunerated medications offered by the Greek government. However, male gender and malnutrition risk were significant predictors of food insecurity in the multiple logistic analyses. This study highlights the need for mainstreaming food insecurity assessment among older adults with comorbidities, especially those at risk for malnutrition.


2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1328-1332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditya Vedantam ◽  
Vijay Subramanian ◽  
Nicholas Vijay Rao ◽  
KR John

AbstractObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence of malnutrition among free-living elderly in a rural population of south India.DesignCross-sectional study. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire, which is an eighteen-item nutritional screening instrument used in the elderly.SettingKaniyambadi block, a rural development block in the state of Tamil Nadu, south India.SubjectsCommunity-dwelling elderly (aged 60 years and above).ResultsAs evaluated by the MNA, 14 % of the 227 subjects were malnourished and 49 % were at risk of malnourishment. No significant difference was found between men and women. The majority of the elderly were living with their children, had no income and consumed three meals per day. Older age (P < 0·001), decreased food intake (P < 0·001) and consuming fewer meals (P < 0·001) were independently associated with lower MNA scores.ConclusionsMore than 60 % of the subjects had low MNA scores (<23·5) indicating that deficient protein–energy intake is common among rural elderly of south India and requires more attention.


Author(s):  
D. J. Patil ◽  
M. M. Shindhe

Background: Worldwide the elderly population gradually increasing and that will definitely pose several challenges. Malnutrition is one of the major but neglected problem in elderly. They are at risk of malnutrition due to physical, psychological, social, dietary and environmental risk factors. Malnutrition in elderly is associated with adverse health effects. Hence to study the nutritional status of elderly.Methods: The study was carried out between January 2016- June 2017. 545 elderly were included in the study. Out of the 6 subcentres, 1 subcentre (Uchagaon) was selected by simple random sampling technique and house to house survey was carried out to select eligible elderly participants in the villages of selected subcentre. Data was collected from eligible elderly by using mini nutritional assessment (MNA) tool.Results: Majority of the participants (65.1%) were between the age group of 60-69 years. 55% were females. 23.5% were malnourished, 49% were at risk of malnutrition and 27.5% had normal nutritional status.Conclusions: The present study concluded that majority of the elderly were at risk of malnutrition. There is a need of actions to improve the nutritional status of the elderly.


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