Validation of screening tools to assess appetite among geriatric patients

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition, health & aging Vol. 16; no. 7; pp. 660 - 665
• Main Authors: Hanisah, R., Shahar, Suzana, Lee, F. S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Springer-Verlag 01-07-2012; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aged; Aging; Anthropometry; Appetite; Biological and medical sciences; Body Composition; Body Mass Index; Cross-Sectional Studies; Energy Intake; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Food; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Geriatric Assessment - methods; Geriatrics; Geriatrics/Gerontology; Health sciences; Hospitals; Humans; Hunger; Institutionalization; Malaysia; Male; Malnutrition; Malnutrition - diagnosis; Malnutrition - prevention & control; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neurosciences; Nutrients; Nutrition; Nutrition Assessment; Nutritional Status; Odds Ratio; Older people; Parenteral nutrition; Primary Care Medicine; Quality of Life Research; Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Sensitivity and Specificity; Sensory perception; Surveys and Questionnaires; Validity; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Weight Loss; Asia; Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur Malaysia; Netherlands; United States > US; Appetite; Malaysia; screening tools; elderly; validation; Human; Validation; Metabolic diseases; Medical screening; Elderly; Geriatrics
• ISSN: 1279-7707; 1760-4788
• DOI: 10.1007/s12603-012-0056-6

Poor appetite is one of the main contributing factors of poor nutritional status among elderly individuals. Recognizing the importance of assessment of appetite, a cross sectional study was conducted to determine the validity of appetite screening tools namely, the Council on Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire (CNAQ) and the Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ) against the Appetite, Hunger and Sensory Perception Questionnaire (AHSPQ), measures of nutritional status and food intake among geriatric patients at the main general hospital in Malaysia. Nutritional status was assessed using the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) while food intake was measured using the Dietary History Questionnaire (DHQ). Anthropometric parameters included weight, height, body mass index (BMI), calf circumference (CC) and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC). A total of 145 subjects aged 60 to 86 years (68.3 ± 5.8 years) with 31.7% men and 68.3% women were recruited from outpatients (35 subjects) and inpatients (110 subjects) of Kuala Lumpur Hospital of Malaysia. As assessed by SGA, most subjects were classified as mild to moderately malnourished (50.4%), followed by normal (38.6%) and severely malnourished (11.0%). A total of 79.3% and 57.2% subjects were classified as having poor appetite according to CNAQ and SNAQ, respectively. CNAQ (80.9%) had a higher sensitivity than SNAQ (69.7%) when validated against nutritional status as assessed using SGA. However, the specificity of SNAQ (62.5%) was higher than CNAQ (23.2%). Positive predictive value for CNAQ and SNAQ were 62.6% and 74.7%, respectively. Cronbach’s alpha for CNAQ and SNAQ were 0.546 and 0.578, respectively. History of weight loss over the past one year (Adjusted odds ratio 2.49) (p < 0.01) and thiamine intake less than the Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) (Adjusted odds ratio 3.04) (p < 0.05) were risk factors for poor appetite among subjects. In conclusion, malnutrition and poor appetite were prevalent among the geriatric outpatients and inpatients. SNAQ was more reliable and valid as an appetite screening tool among this special group of population. There is a need to regularly include nutritional and appetite assessment for early intervention measures in order to prevent consequences of malnutrition.