Locher Julie L, Robinson Caroline O, Roth David L, Ritchie Christine S, Burgio Kathryn L
219N Community Health Services Building, 933 19th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294-2041, USA.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2005 Nov;60(11):1475-8. doi: 10.1093/gerona/60.11.1475.
Undernutrition in homebound older adults is a significant problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the presence of others, both within the household and during meals, on caloric intake in homebound older adults.
In-depth interviews and three 24-hour dietary recalls were obtained from 50 older adults who were receiving home health services. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize participants, and hierarchical linear modeling was performed to evaluate predictors of caloric intake per meal.
Participants' mean age was 77. Females composed 65% and African Americans composed 42% of the sample. Analyses are based on 553 meal observations. The majority (84%) of participants consumed all meals for each of the 3 days of data collection; however, they consumed an average of only 1305 calories per day. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis indicated that persons who had others present during meals consumed an average of 114.0 calories more per meal than those who ate alone (p =.009) and that women consumed 76.7 fewer calories per meal than did men (p =.045). The presence of others within the household had no effect on caloric intake.
This research suggests that a simple and inexpensive way to increase caloric intake in homebound older adults is to make arrangements for family members or caregivers to eat with them.
居家老年人营养不良是一个重大问题。本研究的目的是调查家庭成员和用餐时他人在场对居家老年人热量摄入的影响。
对50名接受家庭健康服务的老年人进行了深入访谈，并进行了三次24小时饮食回顾。使用描述性统计来描述参与者的特征，并进行分层线性建模以评估每餐热量摄入的预测因素。
参与者的平均年龄为77岁。样本中女性占65%，非裔美国人占42%。分析基于553次用餐观察。大多数（84%）参与者在数据收集的3天中每餐都进食；然而，他们每天平均仅摄入1305卡路里。分层线性建模分析表明，用餐时有他人在场的人每餐平均比独自用餐的人多摄入114.0卡路里（p = 0.009），女性每餐比男性少摄入76.7卡路里（p = 0.045）。家庭中他人的存在对热量摄入没有影响。
这项研究表明，增加居家老年人热量摄入的一种简单且经济的方法是安排家庭成员或护理人员与他们一起用餐。
