Nutritional Assessment of the Elderly: a Comparative study between residents of Geriatric Homes versus Community living Population, Tanta, Egypt

Abstract

Background: A higher incidence of malnutrition in the elderly is well distinguished. Malnutrition in geriatrics is a multidisciplinary concept, including physical, social and psychological elements. Methods: A comparative Cross-sectional study was performed to assess the nutritional status of elderly living in old age homes and those living in the community, in Tanta City. Subjects aged over 60 years were included in this study. Evaluation of nutritional status was done via anthropometric measurements and through data collected using the Mini Nutritional Assessment. A total of 185 subjects participated in this study. The study subjects were 56 residents of geriatric homes and 129 people who were residing in their houses. Results showed that the community residing elderly people had higher MNA scores compared to those living in geriatric homes (p <0.001). The MNA results among the old age home residents revealed that 17.9% of subjects were malnourished, and that 46.4% of them were at risk of malnutrition. While in free-living elderly the prevalence of malnutrition was 8.5%, those at risk of malnutrition were 35.7%. Conclusion: previous results showed the importance to screen and monitor elderly people and to share families in the proper nutritional care of the elderly.