Determinants and prevalence of malnutrition among home living geriatric patients

Introduction.- In former research we showed that 19% of home living geriatric patients suffered from malnutrition. Fifty-one percent were at risk for malnutrition. Aim of this study is to define determinants related to malnutrition. Methods.- Cross-sectional data from 173 patients was obtained at first hospital visit. Nutritional status was assessed by means of the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA <17 indicating malnutrition; 17-23.5 indicating risk of malnutrition; > 23.5 indicative of satisfactory nutritional status). Possible determinants of malnutrition were categorized into somatic factors (medication use, co morbidity), social factors (children, marital status), psychological factors (Mini Mental State Examination [MMSE] and Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS]) and functional status (Activities of Daily Life (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Life [IADL]). Both linear regression (with MNA as a dependent parameter) and logistic regression (MNA <17; MNA ≥ 17) were used to identify determinants of malnutrition. Regression analyses were used with correction for age, gender and education. Results.- The mean age of the patients was 80 (Standard Deviation [SD] 6.6) and 38% were male. Malnourished patient had lower body weight (P <0.01), lower BodyMass Index (BMI) (P <0.01), a lower abdominal circumference (only women, P = 0.04). In addition they had worse achievements on the GDS-15 (P <0.01), on the MMSE (P = 0.02), on the ADL (P <0.01), and IADL (P = 0.05). Simultaneously we observed tendencies for higher age (P = 0.09) and lower educational level (P = 0.06) (Table 1). (Table presented) Conclusion.- Malnutrition within the geriatric patient is associated with cognition, depression and functional status. Therefore in the treatment of malnutrition all these factors should be taken in consideration, not simply the nutritional intake.