Nutritional risk of European elderly

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 67; no. 11; pp. 1215 - 1219
• Main Authors: de Morais, C, Oliveira, B, Afonso, C, Lumbers, M, Raats, M, de Almeida, M D V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01-11-2013; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/699/1702/295; 692/700/1518; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Appetite; Attitude to Health; Biological and medical sciences; Body Mass Index; Body size; Chronic diseases; Chronic illnesses; Clinical Nutrition; Demographic variables; Demography; Diet; Epidemiology; Europe - epidemiology; Feeding Behavior; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Food; Food and nutrition; Food intake; Fruits; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender; Geriatric Assessment; Health aspects; Health Status; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Malnutrition; Malnutrition - epidemiology; Malnutrition - etiology; Marital Status; Mastication; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Nutrition Assessment; Nutritional Status; Older people; original-article; Perception; Prevalence; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Public Health; Risk; Risk assessment; Risk Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vegetables; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Europe; health; living circumstances; nutritional risk; NSI checklist; elderly; Human; Nutrition; Health; Risk factor; Checklist; Metabolic diseases; Risk; European; Elderly
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2013.175

Background/objectives:
The elderly constitute a population group with a high prevalence of non-communicable chronic diseases and high risk of malnutrition. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated to nutritional risk in free-living European elderly.
Subjects/methods:
The sample included 644 European citizens, free living in the community, aged 65 years or more. The sample was quota controlled for age groups (65–74, ⩾75 years), gender (male/female) and living circumstances (living alone/with others). Logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with nutritional risk.
Results:
Several variables regarding socio-demographic characteristics, food choice, health status and the satisfaction with food-related life were included in the analysis. According to the recoded score of the ‘Determine your nutritional health’ (NSI checklist), 53% of the elderly were at nutritional risk. Nutritional risk was more likely to occur in elderly who considered that it was more important to choose foods ‘easy to chew’; with lower average number of fruit and vegetables (F&V) intake episodes and lower score for general health. It was also found in non-married participants; those that did not identify changes in their appetite; and those that felt changes in health status. In this sample, the lowest nutritional risk was found for body mass index (BMI) around 18.5 kg/m
2
. Country of residence, gender and age were not found to have a significant effect on nutritional risk.
Conclusions:
Attention should be drawn to the living circumstances, changes in appetite or health, the general heath perception, F&V intake, choice of foods easy to chew and having a low or high BMI.