Nutritional Status and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Elderly in Rural Area in Egypt.

Abstract

Background World's elderly population is rapidly growing with estimates that the proportion of elderly population over 60 years will double from 11% to 22% in the first five decades of 21 st century. The absolute number of elderly is expected to triple from 605 million to 2 billion over this period 1. Longevity is desirable, but what matters is living with satisfactory Quality of Life (QoL) 2. QoL is a broad multidimensional concept based on subjective measures of life, while HRQoL is a more specific aspect of QoL that is related to health 3. Elderly are at greater risk for developing illnesses, that impair HRQoL 4. One of possible potentially modifiable determinants of HRQoL is nutrition, because adequate nutrition can delay the age-related frailty and functional dependency by preserving muscle mass and immunity in elderly 5. Malnutrition is defined as state of deficiency, excess or imbalance of a wide range of nutrients, resulting in significant adverse effects on body structure, function and clinical outcome 6. The reported prevalence of malnutrition in elderly ranged from 23-60% and 5-30% in acute care 7 and community settings 8 respectively. There are several factors that predispose elderly to malnutrition. This includes physiological, social and economic factors, often referred to as "nine D's" (dysphagia, dysgeusia, dementia, depression, diarrhea, poor dentition, disease, dysfunction and drugs) 9. Abstract Background: Malnutrition is a global health problem especially in extremes of age. Elderly people are a fast-growing