Malnutrition in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Nigerian tertiary hospital: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION

The global population of the elderly with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is growing due to improvement in DM care and increased life expectancy. Malnutrition is a recognized complication of DM especially in the elderly. However, despite the impact of malnutrition on the overall outcome of the elderly with DM, it has not received adequate attention.

AIM

To determine the prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors in the elderly with T2DM.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study that involved 96 elderly with T2DM and 96 age and sex matched elderly without T2DM as controls. Malnutrition was assessed using mini-nutritional assessment-short form (MNA-SF), hypoalbuminemia and body mass index (BMI). The factors associated with some malnutrition indices were determined.

RESULTS

The mean age of T2DM and non-T2DM groups were 66.73 ± 5.18 years and 66.78 ± 5.25 years respectively. The observed malnutrition indices among elderly with T2DM and controls were hypoalbuminemia (79.2% vs 25.0%; ≤0.001); overweight and obesity (58.3% vs 24.0%); and underweight (16.7% vs 4.2%). According to MNA-SF, malnutrition (7.3% vs 0%) and at risk of malnutrition (42.7% vs 16.7%) were significantly more prevalent among elderly with T2DM compared to controls ( ≤0.001). On logistic regression, the significant predictors of malnutrition were male gender (AOR:2.70; CI:1.11-6.55;  = 0.028) and albuminuria (AOR:3.14; CI:1.18-8.35;  = 0.022) and poor glycemic control (AOR:7.05; CI:2.01-24.71;  = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Malnutrition is highly prevalent in elderly with T2DM. Poor glycemic control, albuminuria and male gender were significant predictors of malnutrition in this study. Nutritional assessment should be included in the routine DM care especially among the elderly.