Evaluation of nutritional status of elderly patients presenting to the Family Health Center

Objective: Nutritional problems are one of the most common disorders encountered in aging, and malnutrition, secondary to insufficient food consumption. Failure to diagnose malnutrition can increase the risk of illnesses and death. Our objective was to evaluate the nutritional status of elderly patients aged 65 years and older through a Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) scale and to determine its relationship with laboratory parameters.

Methods: This is a single-center cross-sectional study which included 102 patients aged 65 years and older who presented to the Family Health Center (FHS) in the Cobanlar District in the Province of Afyon, Turkey. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements of the patients were obtained, and the MNA scale was administered to the patients using a face-to-face interview technique. In the statistical analysis of the data, categorical variables were analyzed using a Chi-square test, normally distributed data were analyzed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA), continuous variables with normal distribution comprising independent measurements were analyzed using an Independent Samples T-test, and data without normal distribution were analyzed using a Mann-Whitney Rank Sum test.

Results: Of the 102 patients included in this study, 45 (44.1%) were male and 57 (55.9%) were female. The mean age was 74.06±7.89 years (min-max: 65–92). Of these patients, 39 (38.2%) were found to have malnutrition, 19 (18.6%) were at high risk of malnutrition and 44 (43.1%) had a normal nutritional status.

Conclusions: The findings suggest evaluating nutritional status in individuals aged 65 years and older in the population on a regular basis to reduce disease risk and mortality.