Clinical Nutrition Center, Fudan University Affiliated to Hua Dong Hospital, Shanghai, China. Email:
School of Public Health, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2023;32(1):63-69. doi: 10.6133/apjcn.202303_32(1).0010.
Older adults residing in senior homes are at a high risk of malnutrition. In this study, we investigated the nutritional status of these individuals and factors associated with malnutrition in this population.
This cross-sectional study (September 2020-January 2021) included a total of 583 older adults residing in a senior home in Shanghai (mean age, 85.0±6.6 years). The Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF) questionnaire was administered to assess the nutritional status of the participants. Patients with possible sarcopenia were identified according to the guidelines recommended by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia in its 2019 consensus (AWGS 2019). Moreover, the factors influencing malnutrition were determined through multivariate analyses.
The likelihoods of having malnutrition and being at a risk of malnutrition were noted in 10.5% and 37.4% of the participants, respectively. In both male and female participants, handgrip strength (HGS) and calf circumference (CC) increased significantly with increasing scores on the aforementioned questionnaire (p<0.001). Among the participants, 44.6% had ≥3 chronic diseases and 48.2% used multiple medicines. Multivariate analyses revealed that dys-phagia (OR, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.7-8.5), possible sarcopenia (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 2.2-5.6), and dementia (OR, 4.5; 95% CI, 2.8-7.0) were correlated with a relatively high prevalence of malnutrition/malnutrition risk. Exercise (at least thrice a week) reduced malnutrition risk.
Malnutrition is common among older adults residing in senior homes; therefore, the associated factors must be identified, and appropriate interventions should be administered.
居住在养老院的老年人存在较高的营养不良风险。本研究旨在调查该人群的营养状况和与营养不良相关的因素。
本横断面研究（2020 年 9 月至 2021 年 1 月）共纳入上海某养老院的 583 名老年人（平均年龄 85.0±6.6 岁）。采用微型营养评估简表（MNA-SF）问卷评估参与者的营养状况。根据亚洲肌少症工作组 2019 年共识推荐的指南，确定可能存在肌少症的患者。此外，通过多变量分析确定影响营养不良的因素。
10.5%和 37.4%的参与者分别存在营养不良和营养不良风险。在男性和女性参与者中，握力（HGS）和小腿围（CC）随着上述问卷评分的增加而显著增加（p<0.001）。参与者中 44.6%患有≥3 种慢性病，48.2%使用多种药物。多变量分析显示，吞咽困难（OR，3.8；95%CI，1.7-8.5）、可能存在肌少症（OR，3.6；95%CI，2.2-5.6）和痴呆（OR，4.5；95%CI，2.8-7.0）与较高的营养不良/营养不良风险患病率相关。每周至少锻炼 3 次可降低营养不良风险。
居住在养老院的老年人中普遍存在营养不良，因此必须确定相关因素，并采取适当的干预措施。
