Impact of quality of life on nutritional risk and malnutrition: a cross-sectional study in elderly patients

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate prevalence of malnutrition and nutritional risk, related factors, and the association between nutritional status and quality of life in the elderly. Material and Method: Cross-sectional study. Participants; elderly (≥65 years) patients without severe hearing and vision impairment and dependency on a bed or wheel chair who admitted internal medicine outpatient clinics. Measurements; the mini nutritional assessment questionnaire, Charlson comorbidity index, the World Health Organization quality of life (WHOQOL-OLD) questionnaire. Intervention; none. Results: The study included 532 patients with a mean age of 70.8±5.4 years. The median Mini Nutritional Assessment score was 26, and the total prevalence of nutritional risk and malnutrition was 26.7%. There were significant differences between the nutritional groups regarding the educational, living, and marital status, smoking history, presence of any systemic disease, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and polypharmacy (p