Assessment of nutritional status among geriatric population in rural Mangaluru: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: The percentage of elderly is growing rapidly worldwide. They are at a risk of malnutrition due to physiological, psychological, social, dietary and environmental factors.The present study was conducted to find the malnourished elderly in the community. The aims and objectives of the study were to evaluate the nutritional status of elderly using Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) scales; to evaluate the dietary consumption in terms of total calories and protein intake; to assess the factors associated with the malnutrition; to educate regarding nutritional importance in elderly.Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among the geriatric population (n=117) in rural Mangaluru using convenient sampling technique. After obtaining oral consent, mini nutritional assessment scale was used and socio-demography was collected. Total screening score of 14 and assessment score of 16 were summed up to get the total assessment score of 30 to determine the person’s nutritional status.Results: Majority (60.6%) of the study population was females and 39.4% were males. 53% population were Muslims and 51% belonged to nuclear family. According to MNA scale, 54 (46.7%) were at risk of malnutrition, 17 (14.5%) were suffering from malnutrition and rest 46 (39.3%) had normal nutritional status. There was a significant correlation of MNA score with BMI.Conclusions: The results suggest that MNA is a useful tool in the identification of elderly at risk of malnutrition. Due to the high prevalence of elderly who were malnourished or at the risk of malnutrition, a more detailed evaluation, regular follow up and dietary intervention is required.