Relationship of food vulnerability with nutritional status and fragility in elderly mexicans

Abstract

Introduction: Aging implies physical, biological, psychosocial and economic changes that predispose the elderly (AM) to food vulnerability (VA) influencing their nutritional status and fragility, resulting in a high risk of disability, hospitalization and mortality. Objective: To determine the relationship of food vulnerability with the state of nutrition and frailty in an elderly Mexican population. Methods: An analytical observational study was conducted in adults of 60 years or older of both sexes who were institutionalized in the Comprehensive Gerontological Center of Pachuca, Mexico; who gave their consent to carry out the Nutritional Food Vulnerability Scale, the Mini Nutritional Assessment MNAR questionnaire and the Frail screening questionnaire to identify frail people. Results: 80 AM of 60-64 years (n = 19), 65-74 years (n = 37) and ≥75 (n = 24) years were included; finding proportions of mild VA of 92.5% and moderate VA of 7.5%; and 50% of AM was at risk of malnutrition according to MNAR, and 65% was found to be at risk of frailty according to the Frail scale. A negative correlation was found between the score obtained in MNA and the VA score (r =-0.56, p <0.001), and no association was found between VA and fragility (CHI2, p = 0.062). Conclusion: Greater food vulnerability was associated with increased risk of malnutrition in older adults, but no relationship was found between food vulnerability and frailty. A high proportion of older adults presented some indicator of frailty, which in the short term could affect their quality of life.