Konstantinos Katsas1, Eirini Mamalaki1, Meropi D Kontogianni1, Costas A Anastasiou2, Mary H Kosmidis3, Iraklis Varlamis4, Georgios M Hadjigeorgiou5, Efthimios Dardiotis6, Paraskevi Sakka7, Nikolaos Scarmeas8, Mary Yannakoulia9. 1. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece. 2. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece; Department of Social Medicine, Psychiatry and Neurology, First Department of Neurology, Aeginition University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. 3. Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. 4. Department of Informatics and Telematics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece. 5. Department of Neurology, Medical School, University of Cyprus, Aglantzia, Cyprus; Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece. 6. Department of Neurology, Medical School, University of Cyprus, Aglantzia, Cyprus. 7. Athens Association of Alzheimer's disease and Related Disorders, Marousi, Greece. 8. Department of Social Medicine, Psychiatry and Neurology, First Department of Neurology, Aeginition University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece; Taub Institute for Research in Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, The Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, New York. 9. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece. Electronic address: myiannak@hua.gr.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The number of older adults is increasing rapidly. Malnutrition is a major problem in this age group, which may adversely affect health and quality of life. Several physiological, socioeconomic, and neuropsychological factors can lead to malnutrition. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of community-dwelling older adults, and explore the associations of malnutrition risk with physiological, socioeconomic, and neuropsychological characteristics. METHODS: This study is part of the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet study, a cross-sectional observational study in Greece, and study participants were 1831 urban-dwelling elderly individuals (mean age: 73.1 ± 5.9 y; 40.8% men). Risk for malnutrition was assessed with the Determine Your Nutritional Health checklist. Data on age, sex, level of education, marital status, depression, cognitive performance, body mass index, total energy intake, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were recorded. Correlations and multivariate analyses were performed between these variables and risk for malnutrition. RESULTS: The estimated prevalence of moderate and high nutritional risks was 34.8% and 29.4%, respectively. Risk for malnutrition was associated with marital status (unmarried), increased body mass index, male sex, lower level of education, lower cognitive performance, and lower adherence to the Mediterranean diet (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Nutritional screening should be performed frequently in all community-dwelling older adults. Health experts should perform nutritional screening in all community-dwelling older adults as part of secondary prevention, and nutrition counselling and support should be offered in those at risk for malnutrition.
BACKGROUND: The number of older adults is increasing rapidly. Malnutrition is a major problem in this age group, which may adversely affect health and quality of life. Several physiological, socioeconomic, and neuropsychological factors can lead to malnutrition. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of community-dwelling older adults, and explore the associations of malnutrition risk with physiological, socioeconomic, and neuropsychological characteristics. METHODS: This study is part of the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet study, a cross-sectional observational study in Greece, and study participants were 1831 urban-dwelling elderly individuals (mean age: 73.1 ± 5.9 y; 40.8% men). Risk for malnutrition was assessed with the Determine Your Nutritional Health checklist. Data on age, sex, level of education, marital status, depression, cognitive performance, body mass index, total energy intake, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were recorded. Correlations and multivariate analyses were performed between these variables and risk for malnutrition. RESULTS: The estimated prevalence of moderate and high nutritional risks was 34.8% and 29.4%, respectively. Risk for malnutrition was associated with marital status (unmarried), increased body mass index, male sex, lower level of education, lower cognitive performance, and lower adherence to the Mediterranean diet (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Nutritional screening should be performed frequently in all community-dwelling older adults. Health experts should perform nutritional screening in all community-dwelling older adults as part of secondary prevention, and nutrition counselling and support should be offered in those at risk for malnutrition.
Authors: Ilse Bloom; Jean Zhang; Camille Parsons; Gregorio Bevilacqua; Elaine M Dennison; Cyrus Cooper; Kate A Ward Journal: Aging Clin Exp Res Date: 2022-07-01 Impact factor: 4.481