Malnutrition Associated with Sociodemographic Factors in Older Adults in Medellin, Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: Older adults (oa) are at risk of malnutrition (overnutrition or undernutrition) due to physio-logical, feeding, psychological, and social changes associated with aging. This study aimed to estimate the frequency of malnutrition using anthropometry and the Mini-Nutritional Assessment (mna) among oa in Medellin, Colombia, and explore the association of malnutrition with sociodemographic factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study derived from the Technical Proposal for the Development of the Food and Nutrition Security Profile, 2015 was performed with 1187 adults aged ≥60 years old among urban and rural house-holds. The sociodemographic characteristics were considered as independent variables, and anthropomet-ric and mna data were defined as dependent variables. To establish the association between malnutrition and sociodemographic variables, binary and multinomial logistic regression models were used. Results: The average age of the participants was 70.0 ± 8.0 years old; 65.2% were women; 61.5% were of low socioeconomic status; and 65.9% attained primary education or lower. Based on body mass index, 57.6% had malnutrition, 20.8% were undernutrition, and 36.8% were overweight/obese. According to the mna, 5.4% had malnutrition, while 41.4% were at risk of malnutrition. Both conditions occurred more frequently in women (or = 2.0; 95% confidence interval [ci]: 1.5–2.6), aged ≥75 years old (or = 1.7; 95% ci: 1.2–2.4), with low socioeconomic status (or = 3.2; 95% ci: 1.5–6.8), from rural areas (or = 1.7; 95% ci: 1.1–2.5), with primary education (or = 2.1; 95% ci: 1.1–4.4) or no education (or = 3.4; 95% ci: 1.5–7.5). Conclusion: Malnutrition among oa in Medellin, Colombia, is high, especially among women living in rural areas with low socioeconomic status and education level. The study findings indicate a public health problem. These conditions must be considered in the implementation of public policies.