Prevalence and Predictors of malnutrition among elderly in an urban area in Visakhapatnam (India)

Abstract

Introduction

Malnutrition in the elderly is a significant public health problem and often underreported. It has serious

implications on the overall health and quality of life of elderly population.

Objective

To assess the prevalence of malnutrition and its associated factors among elderly.

Methodology: A community based cross sectional study was done for a period of two months during

September 2022 to October 2022 in urban field practice area of a medical college. Total 186 elderly (?60

years) were included in the study by simple random sampling method. An interview schedule was used to

record the socio-demographic and relevant details of the study participants. Nutritional status assessment

was done by using 18 items (30 points) Mini nutritional assessment (MNA) scale. Data was analyzed using

SPSS version 25. Chi- square test and Fisher'sexact test was applied based on the nature of the distribution

of data. P<0.05 taken as statistically significant.

Results

Majority of the participants (84.95%) were in the age group of 60-70 years. About 61.83%were females and

38.17 % were males. The prevalence of malnutrition was 18.28 %. Those who are at risk of malnutrition were

51.61 %. There was no significant association between socio-demographic profile and malnutrition among

elderly.

Conclusion

The present study showed that the majority of the elderly were at risk of malnutrition. There is a need for

early diagnosis and management of malnutrition among elderly which will improve their quality of life.